


Digivengers: Digital Avengers Arc 1- Hope.

by Auragongal



Series: Digivengers [1]
Category: Avengers Assemble (Cartoon), Digimon - All Media Types, Marvel (Comics), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types, Ultimate Spider-Man (Cartoon)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-23
Updated: 2016-05-03
Packaged: 2018-06-04 00:19:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 20
Words: 64,313
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6633106
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Auragongal/pseuds/Auragongal
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After Ultron was seemingly destroyed in the sun, Tony Stark has- at the advice of his board of directors to help improve public relations for the Avengers, decided to have a special "Avengers" day at Highland Academy where he, Captain America, Hawkeye, Hulk, Ant-Man and Thor would have a chance to try and inspire students to make a good future for themselves. Of course, an unexpected incident occurs that causes nine children to get sent to the digital world, and the six heroes getting sent along for the ride.</p>
<p>However, Cap soon learns that he and the nine children are alone on File Island with the Digimon Resistance under Beezlemon's command helping them, while the other Avengers are scattered across the digital world. With the threat of Mercurymon and his master Plutomon looming over the digital world, Captain America must now not only do his best to protect the kids, but also make sure the unexpected war they've been pulled into doesn't change them for the worse...</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Things Go Wrong

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It would have been just a PR event... but then things went crazy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, welcome to the fic! Now, you might be wondering "Auragongal, what the hell were you on/thinking to make you do this fic?"  
> Well, last July after a watching Avengers Assemble and then Digimon Fusion, the following week got me thinking of ideas. I started plotting them out after three days, and on July 22, I made a tumblr and started the fic there. 307 posts consisting of 69 chapters and side material later, I decided to join AO3 at the suggestion of a friend and I am now cross posting the archive so far to the site. 
> 
> Anyway, hope you enjoy the fic, and feel free to comment as we go!

In an unknown jungle, seven beings that were humanoid in shape had gathered together with a staff topped with the paw of some large feline. They had a very special task to do: use that very staff to open a portal into the world of humans, and bring the chosen heroes into their world to help them. Their messenger, Leomon had successfully managed to deliver one of the special tools their heroes would wield in their task, but the others had not been able to answer his call.

Despite that though, they knew full well that if fate was in their favor, then the chosen heroes would be all in one place and easily summoned together. However, they needed to send Leomon through the gate once it opened, so that he may be able to ask them directly for their aid.

“Many Numemon died to bring us the original Jijimon’s staff.” said one of the figures, a knight in red, white and gold armor as well as a red cape. The knight was the one holding the staff and as he was the one who knew full well how to use it, was soon busy mumbling the password needed to activate it.

“Yeah, though I still think this is going to turn into one great big Sukamon.” said another armored figure, this one more wolf-like in appearance as he crossed his arms and frowned, “Anyway, Leo? You saw that kid right? What was their name again?”

“Her name?” Leomon said, smiling a bit as he waited for the portal to open, “Well, you aren’t going to believe this…”

***********************************  
“Bye dad!” Sheena said, adjusting the red hat she wore over her brown hair, as well as buttoning up her blue jacket before leaving the shop below the apartment she called home.

“Have a good day at school Sheena!” her dad called out, before working on the Montoya’s family computer, which had short circuited yet again. 

As Sheena Barnes ran down the street (and feeling quite thankful that her dad’s electronics shop wasn’t too far from school), the girl grinned as she thought about the strange video call she had last night, and the new watch she got out of it. Of course, in her backpack along with her books happened to be a little pet project she had been working on, which she planned to show the Avengers. It wasn’t anything special though, just a little robot buddy that was designed to avoid being controlled by something like Ultron. It was more of a kid’s toy really.

Unfortunately, Sheena’s grin fell as she was suddenly stopped by a pair of red headed, green-eyed twins: one, a boy in blue and yellow, the other a girl in a green dress. For some reason though, both wore yellow shoes.

“Scott, Jean,” Sheena then said, trying to squeeze between them, “I’m really not in the mood today, so can I just take a rain check on whatever orders Tina’s having you two carry out?”

“Not a chance Pinky!” Scott Winters said, before moving behind the girl and tugging at her backpack.

“Resistance is futile.” Jean said coolly while a small breeze moved the hair covering the girl's right eye enough to show a small part of a scar, “Just give us the backpack Sheena, and we’ll leave you alone… and also that new watch you seem to have.”

Sheena took a moment to look at her watch as she considered the options, the obviously high-tech watch with a touch screen, a white cover and wristband, as well as buttons around the edge labeled “Map,” “Unlock,” and “Digivolve.” Since the watch was a gift from a lion man as well as proof that something weird was going on, Sheena did what she thought was right at the time.

“Hey Jean, look at my thumb.” she then said before giving a thumbs up with her left, the confused redheaded girl staring at the digit before the brunette punched her with her right hand and knocked her onto the sidewalk. “Gee, you’re dumb!”

“HEY!” Scott said, causing Sheena to turn around, “Tina gave us orders, and I refuse to return to her without the goods! Also, this is for hurting my sister!”

With that said, the two kids started trading punches, Sheena getting hit in the arm and gut, while Scott ended up getting his face bruised. Soon, Sheen decided to play a little dirty by punching Scott and sticking her thumb in his eye and actually dealing a bit of damage to it as well. As the boy screamed in pain, Sheena used her left fist to knock him down too, before running along to school.

She had a certain girl to deal some long overdue payback too.

A little ahead of miss Barnes was a half-black girl named Tandy Johnson, who was just going on her way as usual, before using her brown eyes to look at her black and green striped top for a moment before smoothing it out. After adjusting her white shorts she then continued walking.

And then Sheena nearly ran her over screaming bloody murder while the brunette’s black goggles were lowered over her eyes. Confused, Tandy then looked behind her to see the beaten up Winters Twins getting up and slowly make their way after Sheena. Giving a shrug, Tandy then continued walking.

Meanwhile, a nine year old blond boy with glasses over his green eyes, a white button up shirt and bow tie, as well as a pair of purple pants held up by suspenders had just gotten out of his dad’s car in front of Highland Academy’s Elementary building. He was Bruce Davidson, and he was soon followed out of the car by his friend and neighbor, Megan Foster. The girl had her brown hair styled into pigtails, and her hazel eyes were filled with excitement as she jumped around in her black and white dress covered by a red sweater. She started talking about the Avengers as Bruce’s dad left for work at the zoo, and the boy soon went over to check on a bird that had fallen out of its nest and broke its wing. Since it was still breathing, the young boy simply took out a handkerchief from his pocket and two small sticks on the ground and used it to make splint.

Out in the courtyard however, was Esteban Montoya, the tan skinned, black haired boy adjusting his glasses as he went over the list to make sure things went smoothly for today’s events. Muttering plans and strategies to himself, he then looked over to see Tina Starling standing against the wall, wearing a pink and cream frilly dress while a red ribbon tied back her raven hair. Her amber eyes showed plenty of impatience,as if she was waiting for someone.

It was then that the Avengers arrived. First, came Cap on a motorcycle followed by Hawkeye on a flying hover-cycle that was pretty awesome to the glasses wearing boy. On Hawkeye’s shoulder though, was Ant-Man, who simply grew to normal size after leaping off the archer’s shoulder. This was soon followed by the Hulk and Thor both landing nearby (with the hulk making a minor tremor as well).

Of course, Iron-Man himself decided to arrive last, doing a few aerial loops before landing on the ground in his usual showboating style. Once they had shown up though, Tina then put on a smile and stepped forward and was about to speak when someone else had arrived in the nick of time.

“STARLING!” Sheena cried, rage fueling her movements as she moved past the Avengers and pounced on the most popular girl in school before delivering a punch to the face. The brunette’s jeans being a little ripped from the previous fight.

“Hey, what’s going on here?” Cap then said, and was about to step in when Thor put a hand on Steve’s shoulder and shook his head.

“I believe that it will be best to leave them be.” the Asgardian said, “Back in Asgard, whenever two women battled… it was safer not to interfere.”

***********************************  
Up on the roof, a young man with grey eyes, ash-blond, spiked hair that had a blue streak in it, a leather jacket over a pink shirt, black half-gloves, jeans, and black boots was looking down at the ground at the Avengers’ arrival when the Janitor spoke up.

“How goes it Percy?” said Luke Lafayette, a man with short brown hair, green eyes hidden by his cap, and wore his khaki-colored uniform as the school janitor, like he did everyday “Enjoying the states okay?”

“Eh, more or less.” said the thirteen year old delinquent as he watched the events below, “Though, it seems Tina’s finally gettin what she deserves. Though…. I better make sure Barnes doesn’t kill her.”

“Right…” Luke then said, the young man giving an awkward smile as he spotted Thor. “I, on the other hand… have to make sure the classrooms are clean. See you later.”

“Likewise Luke.” Percy said, before heading towards the gutter and sliding down the drain to the ground. With that done, he then ran over to pull Sheena off of Tina, the goggled brunette struggling to continue the battle.

“Let me at’er Percy!” she then screamed, “It’s about time I start fighting back against that bitch!”

Captain America however, had ignored Thor’s warning and was trying to separate the girls, and seeing the boy that came into help, simply smiled and nodded.

However, before he could ask, another thing came up in the form of a very large portal that let loose two beings: One looked like a humanoid lion in black pants and a sword at his back while around his neck was what seemed to be a coral necklace and a set of belts on his left first. The other however, looked like a bat-winged monster in green armor covering all but its monstrous legs, while it also seemed to have three dragon heads covering his chest and shoulders. He wore a green and gold hood over his masked, gray face, and sort of reminded the Avengers of a certain Latverian. Well, if that Latverian had been more beastly than armored.

“What the hell is that?!” Hawkeye shouted, before nocking an arrow.

“Looks like fun to me.” Hulk said, before popping the bones in his neck as the green flying monster let go of the lion in order to send him to the ground. The lion however, managed to land on his feet, grunting a bit in pain before looking at the humans around him.

“You have to… stop Murmukusmon…” he said, while Sheena seemed to recognize him and actually looked at the beast with worry.

“That’s the green guy up there, right?” Hawkeye asked, aiming carefully as the monster flew overhead as he waited for it to move closer.

“Whoa, whoa,” Iron-Man then said, holding his hands up, “And how do we know you aren’t on the same side as Mermukmon or whatever he’s called?”

“If we were allies,” The lion then said as he recovered and stood up, “Would he have really dropped me from such a height? He attacked me before I arrived, he’s after the—”

“AH-HAH!” cried the armored bat thing, cutting off the lion’s words. “So, there are the heroes Lord Plutomon has been worried about… it’s time I destroyed them along with that annoying Leomon!” he then laughed out loud, only for Tony to fly up and blast him with a repulsar beam.

“Yeah… no.” said Ironman “Listen, Mermaidmon, if your boss is worried about the Avengers? He really should be.”

“IT’S MURMUKUSMON!” cried the annoyed bad guy, “And I’m not after these ‘Avengers,’ you idiot, I’m after those brats!” Murmukusmon then flew around Tony, diving towards the children, only for the avengers to block his attempts to grab him. Hulk punched him away from two small children near the elementary building, while the three kids at the gate were in shock as Hawkeye and a gigantic Ant-Man did their best to protect them as well. Thor and Tony provided aerial support, the Asgardian providing bolts of lightning and strikes from his hammer, while Iron-Man blasted away with his armor. Cap however, was stuck with what was apparently Leomon, and the other four kids.

“So, why are the kids so important?” Cap asked before using his shield to block a dive from the other monster, “And how do we know we can trust you Leomon?”

“Cause he’s with the good guys!” Sheena then spoke up, “We chatted last night, and while Leomon looks scary, he’s actually a good person!”

“Hello!” Tina then shouted, “That… that thing is a monster! Barnes, you’ve lost your mind if you think a monster can be nice! Er… no offense to the Hulk of course.”

“None taken!” Hulk said, before punching Murmukusmon between him and Thor’s hammer before the monster got away and flew towards Sheena and the others.

“Fist of the Beast King!” Leomon shouted, before punching the air and sending forward an aura shaped like the head of a lion straight towards the other monster. Murmukusmon took the hit, but kept on going, pushing Cap out of the way before attacking again.

“Gehenna Flame!” the green flying monster cried, spewing flames of evil out of his mouth towards Sheena, Tina, Percy and Esteban. It would have been over for them, had Leomon not used his body to protect them. The beast man then roared in pain as the fires consumed him, just as if he was inflicted with death and eternal suffering from Hell itself before he tried to deliver a few more attacks to his killer- another fist of the beast king before he could fight no more.

Leomon had died like a warrior. However instead of leaving a charred corpse, his body disintegrated into small orbs of light as he swung his sword in a failed attempt to take down Murmukusmon before he was gone from sight in an explosion of particles.

“Leomon!” Sheena screamed, causing Thor to look and see Leomon die a warrior’s death. Now pissed off, Thor brought down lightning bolt after lightning bolt, striking the lion’s killer again and again with Mjolnir while the other avengers did their best to keep it from getting away.

Soon enough, the green flying monster was defeated, and started breaking apart like Leomon’s body had before.

“Alright Mucus,” Tony then said, “What’s going on that makes these kids so important?”

“It’s… Murmukusmon…” the monster said, before laughing maniacally as he disappeared, the stream of lights heading straight for the portal. Unfortunately, before Tony or even Cap could say anything, Sheena let out a yelp. As the Avengers looked around, they noticed that she and the kids were starting to rise in the air, while an egg seemed to have appeared where Leomon had perished.

“Get the kids!” Cap then yelled, before rushing to grab Sheena and Percy in an attempt to bring them down, Hulk grabbed the youngest of the kids, while Hawkeye and Antman grabbed the twins and the other girl. Thor and Ironman however, went after Tina and Esteban.

Despite their efforts though, the kids kept rising, and took the Avengers with them into the portal. Of course, as Cap noticed before he started to lose consciousness, six lights were heading out, sounding as confused as they were about what was going on.

_“The hell is this!?”_

_“Gole, is this supposed to happen!?”_

_“Don’t think so Sting, something ‘s gone screwy!”_

_“Error: No virus detected despite unexplained functions! There may be twos in the binary!“_

_“I freaking called it! First Murmukusmon finds us after we send Leomon, the glitch-head’s egg returns alone, and now we are getting warped to who knows where! What’s next, my Roland 2 malfunctions!?”_

_“Oh Sweet Yggdrasil, this was not part of the plan!”_

And then all went black.

***********************************  
Back on the ground, SHIELD had seen what had happened, and sent agents to Highland Academy to strike the new invaders in case there was more trouble. Of course, when the agents got there, they were surprised by what they saw.

A mechanical man with long arms and black armor, save for both a red and blue helmet protecting his shoulders.

A stone monster with a long coat as a cape, gold spikes resembling hair around his head, and odd symbols on arms and legs that seemed to be held together by cables.

A red humanoid bug man in black pants, a coat-cape like the rock monster’s, gold armor on its arms as well as long stingers, gently picking up an egg and of all things, tearing up as and blubbering “Leomon…”

A dragon winged man in leather armor and fedora with guns for legs, three fingered hands and a long red belt.

A man in silver, gold, and lavender armor styled like a wolf that not only had claws as a weapon, but also some sort of odd looking sword made with two golden parallel blades.

A knight in red and white armor with a giant lance and shield as well as a grand red cape.

Whatever these things were, all that one Nick Fury knew was that after the portal closed following their arrival, they were stuck here, and where ever they came from, it was hopefully not the start of an invasion.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, here we are at the end of the first chapter.
> 
> So, while we have the Avengers going into the Digital World with the kids, those six of Earth's Mightiest Heroes get swapped out for two Banchos, a Knight, a grumpy wolf themed armored digimon, a robot and a dragon winged gunman.
> 
> Yes, there were reasons I picked those six, to reflect (sort of) the heroes that they swap with:  
> Gallantmon = Captain America due to the shield.  
> BanchoStingmon= Ant-Man.  
> BanchoGolemon= The Hulk.  
> Avengekidmon= Hawkeye.  
> HiAndromon= Shellhead himself, Iron-Man.  
> Beowulfmon= Thor.
> 
> For those wondering why Widow and Falcon didn't go with them? Well, 1) Widow's not the best with kids if you remember the Molecule Kid episode. 2) Falcon felt that people did not want to be around him due to being patient zero of the Ultron Plague, and 3) Someone had to stay behind and protect the city in case villains decided to cause trouble while most of the Avengers were at the event.
> 
> As for Luke Lafayette the Janitor? Spoilers until Chapter 7.


	2. And on That Day, a Team was Founded

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The first day in the digital world, meeting Beezlemon, and the kids becoming a team whether they want to or not.

Sheena groaned awake as someone seemed to shake her. Opening her eyes though, she was surprised to see Percy, who was unexpectedly showing concern. Mainly because as far as she knew, the guy was the kind of loner who tried to step in and help her out when she wasn’t able to handle herself. Sure, he had just moved to New York recently, but the British teen seemed to interact with her more than anyone else, when he wasn’t getting into trouble for a few pranks anyway. In fact, now that she thought about it, Percy Black had only treated her nicely while he was a smart ass to everyone else at best and an avenging trickster at worst. She honestly couldn’t help but feel he was hiding something, especially when it came to the fact that the first day of class had ended with him somehow managing to not just get another student’s locker rigged to launch a pie at whoever opened it, but did so without even knowing the combination or even seen.

She then remembered that Cap had held onto them tightly during the trip through the portal over the school, and quickly sat up to see the first avenger unconscious nearby.

“Percy, he’s not…” Sheena then said, getting straight to the point.

“No, he’s breathing, but out cold. Mumbled “Bucky” a couple of times though, not quite sure what that could be about.” Percy said, before giving an awkward smile as he continued, “But you er… seemed to have gotten a change in hair color though.”

“What?” Sheena said, before checking her shoulder length hair and actually paled a bit when she noticed it was pink. “Oh come on! I just dyed it brown again yesterday!”

Percy then looked rather surprised at this fact and quickly removed Sheena’s red hat, and noticed that indeed, her hair was completely pink, even down to the roots.

“This why you get called ‘Pinky’ then?” Percy asked calmly, “Kind of reminds me of Utena from that cartoon.”

“You’re not calling me Utena.” Sheena said flatly, while Percy chuckled.

“Wouldn’t dream of it.” Percy then said with a smirk, before raising his arm up to show a black and Purple watch, much like the white one Sheena had. “Anyway, I’m guessing this place has something to do with how you got your new watch?”

“Yeah… Leomon managed to reach through my computer screen to give to me last night, as crazy as it sounds.” Sheena then said, “I guess he tried to contact you, and probably the other kids that were sucked in, but he didn’t get an answer… for some reason.” 

“Not sure what excuse the others had, but my phone was confiscated a week ago. Had planned to go in early, break in and get it back before chatting with Luke.”

“The janitor?” Sheena asked and getting a nod from Percy in response, “So that’s why you were on the roof.”

“Yeah. So…” Percy then said, “What got you riled up enough to show that bird Tina what for?”

“She sent her minions Jean and Scott to try and delay me on my way to school. They tried to take a project of mine out of my backpack, and also Jean tried to take my watch. I fought them off too.”

“Oh? How did that go?” Percy then asked with a laugh.

“Jean went down with one punch, Scott took a little longer, I also used my thumb to blind him in one eye for a little while, so he’s temporarily a cyclops.”

The two kids then laughed a bit, and soon felt their watches begin to vibrate. When the two teens inspected them though, they saw the screens glow as well as send up a short beam of light out in front of them as a pair of eggs: one sky blue with lavender clouds and a red stripe around it, while the other red with what looked like ice blue runic symbols.

“Okay…. that’s weird.” Sheena said, picking the blue egg up and examining it, only for it to start cracking open, as did the other one in Percy’s hands. However, instead of birds coming out of them both, the blue egg produced a small ball of bright blue feathers with a purple beak, a tiny pair of wings and beady black eyes. As for the other egg, that produced a small white thing with big, adorable black eyes, a tiny mouth, small gold wings, and what looked like a long tuft of hair on its head.

“And this is weirder.” Sheena then said, as the blue ball of fluff chirped “Ten!” repeatedly and seemed to decide to perch on Sheena’s head after buzzing up their comically with its wings. “H-Hey! Get off!” The girl then picked the bird up and snatched her hat from Percy, before putting it back on her head where it belonged. As for the white one, it simply flew about curiously before settling on Percy’s shoulder, repeating “Putti” again and again.

“Kinda cute really.” Percy then said with a chuckle before relaxing a bit. Unfortunately, the moment of peace was soon destroyed as a roar sounded close by. “And there’s trouble…”

Sheena then acted quickly, going over to Cap’s still unconscious body and picking up his shield from the ground nearby, and readied it in case there was a fight.

“You know how to use that thing?” Percy asked before standing up and letting his little angel fly in the air next to him.

“Couldn’t be too hard,” Sheena said, “And if bashing whatever is coming with a punch while holding the thing doesn’t work, could always throw it, right?”

“And if that doesn’t work?”

“I’ll think of something… hopefully.” Sheena said, before raising her goggles from around her neck to around her head, and prepared for whatever was coming for them.

That turned out to be a freaked out green ogre like monster in what looked like some sort of Loincloth made of belts screaming as he was chased into the clearing, and later destroyed, by an armored, black-winged man with pale gray skin, a purple mask, three red eyes, and blond hair riding on the most bad ass looking motorcycle the two kids have ever seen. On the side of the bike was a very large cannon that seemed to have also been used as a handheld weapon by the stranger, who then got up and stretched out his arms.

“I really needed to do that.” he said after popping the bones in his neck and spreading his wings, “Very cathartic, hunting down Plutomon’s goons.”

“I… take it you’re in the resistance then?” Sheena asked nervously, after remembering Leomon talking about it when she received her watch.

“Actually, I’m its leader, Beelzemon.” said the winged man, “You’re… Sheena, right? Leomon told me that a girl by that name received the white D-Watch he guarded when he tried to contact you.”

“Yeah.” Sheena said, “About Leomon… he… he sacrificed himself while protecting me, Percy, and a couple of other kids.”

Beelzemon looked rather shocked for a moment, before turning rather grim faced. “I… I see.” He then noticed the two small digimon with the kids and gave a weak smile as he then added, “I also see you two met your partners, the white one’s called Puttimon… though I don’t recognize the blue one.”

“Well, it keeps saying ‘Ten” alot,” Sheena then said, “So I guess it’s name might be Tenmon or something?”

Beelzemon simply shrugged, before spotting the human in the odd, red white and blue clothes. “Who is that?”

The kids then looked back at Cap and then remembered that he still had yet to wake up.

“That’s a hero from our world, Captain America. He and some friends of his were at our school when the mess happened and they helped destroy Murmukusmon.” Percy then said, before he and Sheena attempted to move to help the man up. However, Beelzemon instead moved passed them and picked the hero up in his arms, before returning to his bike.

“You two, get on Behemoth, I’ll take us back to the base. Chances are, Angewomon and LadyDevimon have found the others and did the same.”

The two kids nodded and did as they were told, the two baby digimon hiding in the kids’ jackets as they sat on the rather large bike.

***********************************  
Steve Rogers woke with a start and sat up in bed. He had been dreaming about Bucky of all people, as well as the kids from the school and the battle that had happened. Of course, he had thought for a moment it was all a dream at first, and then noticed that he was not in his room in the Avengers Tower, but instead a much older looking one decorated with artifacts.

He also soon realized that his costume was missing just as the door opened up.

“Oh you’re awake!” said what looked like a person- if she could be called that, since she looked like some sort of floral fairy with alien looking eyes, a pink dress and vines for hair underneath a flower for a hat and a pair of flowers converted into sleeves along with their stems, and also leafy wings and boots! “Um… your clothes stunk pretty badly, so I was ordered to wash them for you. They just finished drying, and you were out for a few hours!”

With that said, he then noticed she was carrying a bundle of stuff that looked like his uniform, before quickly dropping them off. “I’ll wait outside, Lord Beezlemon wishes to speak to you along with the Digi-Knights that have come to save us!”

“Uh… right.” Steve then said, and after letting the info sink in for a moment, realized that she was talking about the kids.

Later on, Captain America and the fairy- called Lillymon as she introduced herself once he was ready, walked into the throne room, where the hero saw not only the kids and some sort of masked man with wings, but also several small creatures ranging from a small dragon, two balls of fur, a tiny indigo bird with blue eyes, a weird angelic thing, two tiny knights and a demonic looking Koala. The weirder ones however, happened to be the floating flame with a face and also the white, bug-winged and flying drop of slime.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you.” Beelzemon said, “I am Beezlemon, and I believe we have a lot to talk about.” 

“Alright then Beezlemon,” Captain America said, “I’ve got some questions for you.”

“As you should.” said the black winged humanoid, “And I’ll be happy to answer them as best as I–”

Beelzemon was then interrupted by two women that entered from a sideroom, approaching Beelzemon’s throne and kneeling. Both had long hair as the only thing in common, while one of them looked like an angel with a pink shawl draped around her shoulders and a metal helmet, while the other had glowing red eyes, wore black leather that was torn in some places, a seemingly smiling scarf that hovered near her head and looked around, as well as pale white skin and ash-white hair (The angel being a golden blond).

“Lord Beelzemon, Hi-VisionMonitamon needs to see you, now. It’s time for the broadcast.” said the angel.

“Do I really have to do this?” Beelzemon said, suddenly looking quite uncomfortable, “I hate talking on camera…”

“Listen up asshole!” Said the more evil looking one of the twins, “Mastemon ordered you to contact the kids’ parents before you-know-what happened, so get off your butt and do it ya big black chicken!”

“Alright, alright…” Beelzemon said, earning a suspicious look from the Captain, “Sorry… I’ll be right back. Please, just uh… get comfortable.” With that said, Beelzemon and his two ladyfriends left for the sideroom, leaving the humans and the smaller creatures in the room alone.

“So…” said Cap, “I think we should just take a moment to introduce ourselves… you all know me, right?”

All the kids nodded, while the creatures with them nodded as well.

“Good,” he then said, “Now then, what about your names?”

“I’m Sheena Barnes, and this little indigo bird is named Tylamon.”

“Hiya!” said the first of the nine creatures.

“Percy Black, the lil’ angel with me is named Puttimon.”

“Putti!~” said the little angel, before giving a quick jump into the air before landing back on Percy’s shoulder.

“Tina Starling, and my koala friend here is named Phascomon!”

“Nice to meet ya.” Said the Koala, which for some reason caused a slight shiver to go down Cap’s spine.

“Esteban Montoya and this is Ryudamon.” said the black haired boy with glasses, and Cap noticed that he definitely had a Spanish accent.

“Well met, good Captain.” said the samurai-esque dragon rather politely as he managed to give a bow.

“Br-Bruce Davidson, and this is Pupumon.” said the nine year old boy, whose little white slime bug responded with a simple “Pu pu.” 

“Megan Foster, nice to meet you!” Said the other nine year old, a girl who was holding a purple furball, “This is Dodomon.”

“Dodo!“

“Jean Winters, and the cyclops here is my brother, Scott.” Said the red headed girl almost robotically, while her brother merely grumbled as he fumbled with his eyepatch.

“We are the Pawnchessmon, Captain.” said one of the little knights next, “I, Black, am Lady Jean’s Partner, while my brother White is Scott’s.”

“Yo,” said White, before giving a lazy wave.

“And I’m Tandy Johnson.” Said the fifth girl in the room, “And uh… I’m stuck with a little fireball…”

“My name’s DemiMeramon Tandy!” said the flame, “I told you I’m your partner!”

Cap simply took in the information, as well as the fact that the creatures (most of them, anyway) could talk as calmly as possible, even if Tandy didn’t seem to be doing so well.

“Alright, have any of you seen the other Avengers?” he then asked, but the kids all shook their heads.

“Percy and I were with you when we woke up in the Jungle.” Sheena then said, “There, we gained Tylamon’s and Puttimon’s eggs from the watches we have, and they hatched. Though, Tylamon was a digimon called ‘Tenmon’ for about an hour. Beelzemon then found the five of us and brought us here to the El Dradimon ruins.”

“I see…” Cap then said, “And what about the rest of you?”

“Well, I was with the twins when Angewomon found us.” Tina then said, “But we didn’t get our digimon until we got to the ruins, and my sweet Phascomon was already hatched!~”

“The rest of us were found by LadyDevimon,” Esteban said as he adjusted his glasses, “Like Tina, our digimon didn’t get out of our watches until we arrived at the ruins. However, there didn’t seem to be any sign of the other Avengers.”

Cap sighed and pulled out his Avengers card, remembering that they could be used to communicate with the others, if needed. Holding it up, he spoke.

“This is Captain America calling Iron Man, Hawkeye, Thor, Hulk, and Ant-man.” he said, “I’m with the kids from Highland Academy and they’re safe for now. If you can hear me, please respond.”

Nothing came through, but static. Shaking his head, Cap was about to put the card away when Sheena- who he now noticed had pink hair when he could have sworn she was a brunette before, moved closer and took off her backpack to pull out a small device that looked like a round little robot with arms and legs as well as a screen on its torso.

“Hey, can I see your card for a moment?” she said, before popping open the back with a screwdriver she had pulled from another pocket of her bag, and showing the motherboard.

“Why?”

“Because the project I was working on before this mess started was a robot buddy to help kids keep from getting lost by relying on cellphone signals. If that card uses a different system altogether, then I want to see if I might be able implement the card and then use the guide-bot as an Avenger tracker!”

Cap looked a little worried as he remembered Ultron’s ability to jump from host to host. “How long have you been working on that?”

“Since after Ultron was destroyed.” said the girl, while it seemed all but Esteban understood what she meant.

“I see,” said the nerdy boy as he moved closer as well, “You didn’t want to start before hand with that robotic monster on the loose jumping from body to body, did you?”

“For once Bonbon, we can agree on something.” Sheena said, before looking at Cap again, “So, you want to try it or not?”

Thankfully, before Cap could answer, Beelzemon returned, grumbling about how he hated being on camera. Seeing the kids though, he put on a smile and spoke up. 

“Sorry about that.” he said, before noticing the little machine on the floor. “Er… what’s that?”

“Well,” Sheena began, “If Cap’s the only Avenger found, this little guy could be used to track the others… if he lends me his card.”

“Uh… at the moment, it’s not going to work.” Beelzemon said before clearing his throat awkwardly.

“And why not?” Both Cap and Sheena said in unison, while Esteban moved away and grumbled about the nickname Sheena had given him.

“Because, right now this base is the only place the Resistance has left to go, most of File Island has been taken over by one of Plutomon’s generals, Mercurymon, and that includes the factory we raided in order to get the D-Watch tracking Data out of Enemy Hands. That Factory also has a communications station and since it’s been shut down and guarded by one of Mercurymon’s lackeys, we won’t be tracking anyone.”

“So, how did you get the broadcast out?” Cap then asked, causing Beelzemon to groan.

“The freaking Monitamon use their own system of communication in order to connect to each other.” Beelzemon said, “However, it’s for sending messages and gathering information on the enemy only, not for tracking people or Digimon.”

“So what?” Percy then said, “We break into the Factory, take it back from the baddies, and turn on the system and get ourselves the radar.”

“Now that’s the talk I expect from a Digi-Knight.” Beelzemon said with a smile.

“Now hold on a minute!” Cap then shouted, “This is a war here, and you want these kids to go in and help you fight?!”

“It’s not me who selected the kids, it was Mastemon before…” Beelzemon then became quiet and shook his head, “I’m sorry, but that’s all I can say right now, Captain. The Digi-knights won’t however, go in alone. Their digimon partners will protect them.”

“They won’t know what they’re doing!” Cap argued, “This operation needs trained professionals, not children!”

“Well we don’t have trained professionals!” Beelzemon argued back, “I don’t want them hurt either, but from what I can tell, children are less likely than adults to bring in armies or their leaders into the Digital World and make a problem even worse than it is!”

“And how would you even know that?!” Cap said, while Beelzemon clammed up and looked away.

“Cap, just leave him alone.” Sheena then said before standing up. “He’s got his reasons right? Besides, from what I can tell we’re stuck here until this fight’s over. Which means that we most likely can’t go home until the bad guy is defeated. So if you’re that worried about us, you can protect us too, deal?”

Cap sighed, looking up at Beelzemon before looking back at the young girl. Though, despite the pink hair he thought for a moment he saw his old friend Bucky Barnes. Of course, the fact the kid wore something similar to Bucky’s old costume from the war was a little off-putting.

“Fine…” he then said with a groan, “Who knows, maybe we’ll find one of my teammates at the factory.”

“Alright.” Beelzemon said with a smile, “Who knows? Perhaps with a bit of planning, we could pull this off. Of course, the kids do need a leader among them, if they’re going to work as a team.”

“True.” Cap said before looking at the kids, “So, who will it be?”

Unfortunately, the question sparked an argument as Tina volunteered as Leader only to be put down by Percy claiming that she’d probably abuse power. Eseteban, Tandy, and the younger members of the group simply stayed out of it as another fight broke out, this time between Percy and Scott. As the two boys fought and exchanged punches, Cap looked at Sheena again and thought about her actions so far: Making contact with Leomon, sticking up for the lion man back on earth, coming up with an idea on how to find the Avengers, and finally managing to point out what needed to be done.

The man in red white and blue then walked over to the boys and pulled them apart, before clearing his throat. “On second thought, I say Sheena leads.”

“Saywhatnow.” said the pink haired girl, while Beelzemon nodded in agreement with Cap, “N-Now wait a minute! I am no leader!”

“That’s for sure,” said Tina with a smirk, “It takes charisma to lead, and Freaky Sheena certainly doesn’t have that.”

One swift glare from LadyDevimon quickly silenced the bratty teen, before Beelzemon spoke up again.

“In any case, we’ll discuss this more tomorrow, you kids need to rest and get to know your partners now, right? I’ll call in one of the other digimon working for the Resistance to give all of you a tour of the base in the morning as well.”

With that said and done, the kids and Captain America were allowed to leave the throne room, with Angewomon leading them to their rooms to rest for the day.

Tomorrow of course, would be rather important.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, back on Tumblr, this was originally the only chapter split into two parts, with part one ending where Cap met Beelzemon. As you can see however, I decided to merge them here on AO3 for easier reading.
> 
> Now, the kids are each referencing other marvel characters in some way, and so, I'll list them and a couple other non-spoilery factiods here.
> 
> 1\. Sheena Barnes: Going by the lastname and her red, white, and blue outfit, she references both Bucky and Cap. Her pure white D-watch is meant to basically be a working prototype of the ones the rest of the kids have, and also reference how in the original series of digimon, the kids' digivices were all the same. Despite the pink hair, she's not a mutant. Sheena's mother is presumed dead back on Earth.
> 
> 2\. Percy Black: Originally meant to reference the Black Knight with his last name and the fact he's a Brit, but due to stuff I can't say until after Chapter 7's posted, I can't say much else about his personal life. His watch however, is purple and black, like Hawkeye's current costume.
> 
> 3\. Tina Starling: She's basically a girl version of Tony Stark with her pink and cream colored outfit, and her red and gold watch also references Shellhead's primary color scheme for his armor. She was also raised in an anti-mutant family environment which is why she's a bitch to Sheena. She'll get better.
> 
> 4\. Jean Winters: She references Jean Grey, and her green dress and yellow boots as well as her matching D-Watch references Grey's Marvel Girl and Phoenix costumes. Unlike Miss Grey, Jean Winters does not have psychic powers, is not a mutant, and is usually robotic emotionally as she doesn't talk much. The reason why will be revealed in Chapter 9.
> 
> 5\. Scott Winters: He references Scott Summers, and his clothes and D-watch are meant to reference Scott's costume from the 90s cartoon. Unlike Summers (thankfully), he does not have a crazy family tree, eye beams, or tons of angstmonkey stupidity and instead is just hot blooded. He is also the more emotive and younger of the twins, and is usually pretty cheerful most of the time. Also not a mutant.
> 
> 6\. Tandy Johnson: She references both Cloak and Dagger with her name and outfit. Dagger being represented by her white shorts, crescent moon pendant and first name, while her last name and green and black vertical striped shirt references Cloak. Her D-Watch, which is red and white references Falcon. Tandy is also the daughter of a white woman and a black man from Brazil and really the most normal of the group. Hence her freaking out the most if you read the Journals. Tandy also has an amulet under her shirt that her dad gave her- said amulet being a family heirloom from her Brazilian ancestors and may or may not have some form of protective magic in it.
> 
> 7\. Esteban Montoya: His outfit is meant as a shout out to El Aguila, an obscure Spanish Marvel hero who is a mutant with bio electric powers, and the hero name being a family thing for generations. As El Aguila is also Esteban's father, you can expect Esteban to gain powers too. His D-watch is red and gray for Ant-Man. He's also the oldest of the kids, but due to his life back in Spain before joining his father in America, he's not too trusting of people.
> 
> 8\. Megan Foster: Her last name is a reference to Jane Foster, Thor's GF and later Lady Thor in the comics, while her D-Watch and outfit is meant to reference Thor's costume. She's also the youngest in the group, hates blood and guts though her mom works as an OR nurse and EMT, and her father is a dead Private Detective.
> 
> 9\. Bruce Davidson: He's meant to reference the Hulk with his D-Watch and Bruce Banner with his nerdy outfit and first name. His last name is more of a shout out to the Hulk live action TV series.Bruce's parents are a Zookeeper named Davis Davidson and a veterinarian named Karen. Karen has a prosthetic leg as well. As for his dad? Let's just say he was able to get a few Russian Bears to help him when a supervillain attacked the zoo he worked at once, as they worked together to pull that villain into their pen and save Davis when the villain held the guy hostage. Bruce however, has shown no sign of having similar abilities as his father, and the man may just be that damn good with animals and not have superpowers.
> 
> Next time, I'll talk about the kids' digimon partners.


	3. Protect the Primary Village! Kudamon and Vukumon arrive!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Our heroes get to see more of the Resistance base, while Beezlemon worries about a friend of his.

Beelzemon sat in the throne room, looking over reports and placing them on a table nearby as he read them. While he was glad he had someone like Myotismon around to handle paperwork, recent events had really harmed morale.

That, and the fact that if the Ring of Hope was liberated from Mercurymon, he would have to take the Resistance to the Ring of Love next, and if Mervamon’s report was anything to go by, he wasn’t looking forward to seeing Lilithmon again.

Of course, just as he finished looking over the reports for the day, he felt something off in the air around him, and soon covered his eyes as a flash of light entered the room. Once the flash passed, he looked to see a humanoid woman with long, braided greenish blue hair, a dragon-skull helmet depicting two snakes, one black the other white, forming a heart, a large bony snake with a similar symbol on its head making up her left arm, while her other one looked normal. Despite this, she looked mostly human and as she raised her amber eyes up to Beelzemon, the resistance leader also noticed that the scantily clad digimon was also badly hurt.

“Lord…. Lord Beelzemon…” she then said, before collapsing onto the floor. 

“Mervamon!” Beelzemon then shouted, before picking her up and rushing her into the infirmary, apparently worried as he actually started literally flying down the halls past several digimon.

***********************************  
Meanwhile, at the other side of the base the Digi-Knights and Cap were just finishing up some breakfast in their rooms before they heard a knock at the door. One by one, they came out, only to see a gray skinned man with long blond hair, a blue suit with gold trim and red bats on the puffed up shoulders of the sleeves, and a cape with a collar high enough to potentially make Doctor Strange green with envy. Of course, as Cap soon noted, the man also wore a red bat-like mask as well as fangs, making him look like a vampire.

Cap personally hoped Dracula wasn’t lurking around here as the stranger spoke.

“Greetings.” he said, “I am Myotismon, and while I usually handle the reports, missions, and intelligence given to me by Beelzemon, he has requested I take precious time out of my day to give you all a proper tour of the Resistance Base.”

“You look more like a bad guy.” Tina said flatly while Phascomon was held in the girl’s arms.

“Yeah, your mug looks more like something that’d deserves a holy arrow to the noggin.” the demonic koala then said, causing Myotismon to actually pale a bit before quickly moving ahead.

“I’m much happier doing paperwork than trying something as stupid as challenging Plutomon for the Digital World.” Myotismon then said, “Now come on everyone, we have a tour to get to.”

The humans in the group then followed along, Cap bringing up the rear just in case trouble popped up behind them.

***********************************  
While the tour was taking place however, Mervamon awoke in the infirmary sometime later, sitting up to look around. to her surprise though, she saw Beelzemon asleep in a chair right next to her bed, and blinked.

“Beelzemon?” she said, causing the resistance leader to wake up and look relieved that the warrior survived.

“How do you feel?” he then asked.

“Like I got hit by a Trailmon.” Mervamon groaned, “Lilithmon found me before I could leave the Ring, and attacked me.”

“What?” Beelzemon said before quickly standing up, “How did she even find you? Did she send anyone after you or did she attack you herself?”

“One of her ‘followers’ overheard me mention your name, and I guess she decided to face me personally like some jealous ex.” Mervamon then said, giving Beelzemon a suspicious look.

“She’s still hung up on that? Great… just great.” Beelzemon then groaned, “If we make it past Mercurymon, I am not looking forward to seeing her again.”

“You two used to work together, didn’t you?” Mervamon then asked, “Back when you were one of the Seven Great Demon Lords?”

“Unfortunately…” said her superior, “And I’m not that Mon anymore, we both know that.” 

“Yeah…” Mervamon said, “Anyway, I’m just lucky I got enough distance between her and me to use that Gate disk the boys downstairs put together. Saved my life.”

“Barely.” Beelzemon then said, before adding, “So, what all did you manage to find out?”

“Well, Lilithmon’s been capturing and imprisoning Digimon she’s classified as obviously attractive, as if she’s planning to make sure she’s the only thing the digimon give their attention to.“

“Well, she is the Demon Lord of Lust.” Beelzemon said dryly, “She’s the type to enjoy all that attention… but… I’m glad that you made it back home instead of being her latest captive.”

Beelzemon then turned slightly pink and started to stammer again, while Mervamon chuckled in response. “A-Anyway, did you learn anything else?”

“No sir.” Mervamon said, “And I take it I can’t go back yet to learn more?”

“Bingo.” Beelzemon said, “You’re on leave until you’ve fully recovered, understand?”

“Sir, yes sir.” Mervamon then said with a small smile, and with that out of the way, the two then caught up on current events that happened while the warrior was out in the field.

***********************************  
“And here we have the Library.” Myotismon said as he opened yet another set of doors, revealing a gigantic room filled with shelves upon shelves of books, and also having a stained glass window in the back depicting an angelic digimon defeating a black, demonic looking one. “Now, why don’t you go explore the area while I take a moment to sit down?”

“Do we have to?” Tina then said, “I hate reading, it’s soooooo dull!”

“Hey now,” Cap then said, “We are staying here as their guests Tina, so it’s best to at least look around.”

While the super soldier soon went on to lecture Tina about the point of gathering information in an unknown area, Esteban took a moment to look at the books and immediately notice something.

They weren’t exactly in English, but instead some strange set of symbols he couldn’t make heads or tails from. Of course, as he had seen some younger digimon wandering around during the tour, he then came to the conclusion that they must have had a primer of sorts when it came to learning how to read. He then walked over to the relaxing vampire digimon and spoke up.

“Myotismon,” he said, getting the digimon’s attention, “Could you point me to where I can find a primer? I can’t exactly read the language, so I figured it might help to start with the basics.”

Myotismon then smiled as he got up and personally led Esteban to where he needed to go all the way in the western end of the library. “It’s so good to see someone thrilled about the pursuit of knowledge.” he then said, while Ryudamon followed behind the two as quickly as he could.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the library, Sheena was looking for Tylamon who had wandered off, and managed to spot her going down one of the aisles of bookshelves. It was then that the pink haired girl spotted the indigo ball of feathers fluttering towards someone sitting at a desk and reading a book. As Sheena got closer though, she then noticed that the stranger was wearing blue and silver armor trimmed with gold, as well as a ten golden wings on its back, and two smaller wings coming off the helmet. Leaning against the table though, was a wooden staff that was carved with symbols Sheena didn’t really know how to translate.

Sheena then saw Tylamon fly closer to the table, causing the girl to move closer as well and soon seeing the little bird land in front of the armored angel.

“Hm?” he said, lifting his head up, “Now then, this is a pleasant surprise, what is your name little one?”

“Tylamon!” said the bird before giving a happy chirp and bouncing a little as well, while Sheena sighed in response, and also grabbing the attention of the angel, who then turned his head to look at her. Sheena then noticed his helmet completely obscured his face, and wondered how he could see at all through it before flinching again as the stranger spoke.

“What about you, young miss?” he said, “What is your name?”

“Sheena Barnes,” said the girl, before moving closer to pick up her partner, “Sorry if Tylamon bothered you.”

“It’s quite alright. I actually enjoy having company, but sadly no one is willing to even visit me here in the library these days, it’s quite lonely.” He then began to stand up, reaching for his staff, and causing Sheena to move in closer to help him up. The girl then noticed that the thing that stood out most on the armor was a golden symbol that looked like either a person in a cloak, or a sun rising over a field, she wasn’t sure which. Of course, the digimon also had a golden cloth covering his crotch, covered in red symbols the pink haired girl wasn’t sure what they translated to.

“Thank you.” Said the armored digimon as he held his staff, “My name is Seraphimon, the Lord of Hope… or I used to be. I have lost a lot of power after Mercurymon stole my throne for his master, and I fear the Resistance has lost the very thing this ring has been named for. Then again, perhaps our meeting was meant to be, seeing as you are human. One of the Digital Knights, I presume? Tell me, what are you the Knight of?”

“Actually, me and the others got here recently,” Sheena said, “Though… some people from our world thought we were in trouble when that portal sucked us in, and they came along for the ride… but Beelzemon hasn’t said anything other than that we were meant to be heroes, so I can’t answer your other question. At least, not yet anyway. I hope I will though, and I’m sure that things can go back to normal for the Digimon, even if I don’t know much about them yet.”

Seraphimon was silent for a moment, as if taking Sheena’s words in. And then, something happened that neither the girl or her partner expected: Seraphimon began to shine a little. Once the light faded though, he gave a soft chuckle and patted Sheena’s head.

“Perhaps you’re correct.” He said, and he might have said something more, if Cap’s voice didn’t grab the girl’s attention first.

“There you are!” the star-spangled man then said as he ran over to the girl, “It’s time to get going.” He then noticed the armored angel, and blinked as he realized he might have interrupted something. Seraphimon however, simply laughed before speaking.

“My apologies,” he then said, “I didn’t realize young Sheena had other business to attend to. However, I do look forward to when we have a chance to talk again.”

With that, the angel walked away to another part of the library, using the staff to support himself while Cap and Sheena went back to rejoin the other kids and Myotismon.

***********************************  
Later on, the group finally reached the end of the tour, concluding at Myotismon’s office and the vampire was about to dismiss them when two small digimon ran up, one looking like an orange thing with bat wings for ears, while the other just looked like a big eyed puppy wearing a golden collar.

“M-Myotismon!” cried the orange creature, gaining the vampire’s attention, “There’s trouble in the Primary Village! We’re being attacked!”

“Patamon, don’t lie. It’s not good for your kind of digmon.” he then said, clearly unamused.

“But its true!” said the puppy, while Myotismon then glared.

“Salamon… it definitely isn’t good for you to lie.” he said, while Percy decided to speak up.

“Hey, it wouldn’t hurt to check it out, right?” said the delinquent, while Puttimon added a ‘Putti’ in agreement.

“Yeah, if its a prank this looks like a bad one.” Sheena then added, and the two kids both earned a very annoyed look from Myotismon.

“Fine. Since you two volunteered, you both can follow them and see the truth.” Myotismon said before looking at the rest of the kids, “As for you, go back to your rooms, understand?”

While the rest of the digi-knights grumbled as they made their way back to their quarters, Cap watched as Sheena and Percy went with Salamon and Patamon, and feeling a little worried himself, followed as well.

“So, what’s this Primary village, anyway?” Percy said, “And why did Myotismon decide not to show it to us?”

“The Primary Village is where digimon are born and raised in safety! Myotismon just doesn’t like baby digimon very much and tends to avoid the place as much as he can.” Salamon said, “Though, Leomon used to raise the digimon in the village for as long as anymon can remember, but then he got sent to earth, so substitutes had to be put in place while he’s… well…”

The group fell silent as the ran down the hall towards the outside of the base, Sheena and Percy remembering Leomon’s sacrifice while Cap realized that Leomon was more than just a soldier, he was practically the closest these creatures had to a father figure. Now knowing that Leomon’s loss hit the resistance harder than he had thought, he also then considered the idea that the reason Leomon was chosen to contact the kids at all was because he had experience talking to young digimon, which he assumed were like children as well.

Soon, the group reached the Primary Village, and while the humans were surprised to see how soft everything seemed to look, it was also crawling with baby and in-training digimon that were panicking as two digimon- one looking like a cross between a cat and a jet, and the other looking like a masked swordsman with a tail and pale blue, clawed feet- fighting of all things, a cartoony looking possum held in the air with Balloons.

“You’ve got to be kidding me.” Cap said, pulling out his shield just as the two digimon fighting the possum were knocked to the ground and knocked out as well, while the attacker gave the most annoying sounding laugh he had ever heard.

“Nothing can stop Opossumon!” said the invader, “Now that I’ve found the resistance, I’m going to take the eggs to Mercurymon for future soldiers, AND report its location!”

“The hell you are!” Cap shouted, gaining the possum’s attention as he threw his shield at it. However, he didn’t expect it to dodge and move out of range as the vibranium shield returned to Cap’s hand. Then, Tylamon flew out of Sheena’s arms and headed towards the enemy along with Puttimon, the two digimon attempting to stop it before it could deal any more damage. Sheena and Percy also tried to help by throwing rocks at the invader, only to miss as well.

Of course, Opossumon then knocked back the two young digimon with a swat of its tail, and began to laugh again.

“Is this the best you got?” it asked, while Cap tried to hit the balloons holding it up with his shield a second time, only to move out of range again. “You guys should just give up already! Mad Balloon Bombs!”

“No way!” Cap shouted, using his shield to protect himself from the bombs the possum sent towards him, while Sheena and Percy dove out of the way, also grabbing the downed Tylamon and Puttimon in the process.

“We’ll never let you win!” Sheena said, “Even if it looks hopeless, we can never give it up!”

“I’m guessing Leomon loved this place, right?” Percy then said, “So I sure as hell ain’t going to let you take these eggs to whatever wanker your working for!”

As if detecting their resolve, it was at that moment that Sheena’s and Percy’s watches started going off, and looking at the screens, the kids saw the message “Rookie Level ready to unlock.” Unsure what else to do, the kids then pushed the “Unlock” button on their watches, which caused the “Digivolve” button to glow. Clicking that next, they were then prompted to place their fingers on the screen, and swipe across them.

Having nothing to lose, the kids did so, and two beams of lights went from the watches towards their digimon partners, which were then enveloped in balls of light.

“Tylamon digivolve to,” Tylamon cried, before coming out of the light with a more developed form that looked a lot like a red and lavender falcon, with a red headband around its head, blue eyes, and talons covered in armor, “Vukumon!”

“Puttimon digivolve to,” said Puttimon as the first actual sentence it had ever said, soon leaving the light as well with a new form, this one looking like a white weasel with a golden eyes, golden collar covered in symbols, gold circuit lines on its back, and a bullet attached to its tail. “Kudamon!”

Cap had just deflected another set of bombs when he spotted the change, and watched as the weasel hopped on Vukumon’s back, allowing the bird to take off and fly up to Opossumon’s height.

“Take this!” cried the falcon digimon, “Vukubeam!” as it opened its mouth wider, a beam of golden light shot and hit the possum digimon right in the stomach, but it kept its grip on its balloons and glared.

“No fair!” it then cried, “You shouldn’t be able to win!”

“And you shouldn’t be able to whine.” said Kudamon dryly, before leaping off of Vukumon and began spinning its body and crying “Bullet Whirlwind!” It was then that it seemed to turn into a twister itself, the bullet it was attached to flying straight towards Opossumon’s hand and striking so hard, that it was forced to let go and fall to the ground.

Of course, even though the ground was soft, the fact that it had gone a great distance above the village allowed physics to take over and caused it to fall to its death upon impact thanks to the high speed at which it fell. With the fight over, Cap went over to the kids just as Vukumon grabbed Kudamon and landed safely in front of Sheena and Percy.

“You two okay?” Cap then said, and getting a nod from Percy, while Sheena rubbed her arm.

“I got hit a little,” she admitted, “but I think I’m fine.” As she removed her hand though, it turned out her arm was bleeding and Percy sighed and pulled a red scarf from his coat pocket and used it to wrap up Sheena’s wound. While the girl looked slightly embarrassed by this, Cap however looked a little relieved as he then watched Kudamon jump onto Percy and drape its body across the boy’s shoulders, while Vukumon landed on the ground and spoke.

“Shouldn’t we go tell Beelzemon about this?” she asked, while Cap then nodded in agreement.

“Correct uh… Vukumon.” he said, being careful not to get the name wrong, “Let’s get going.”

With that said, the avenger, the two kids and their digimon took the two injured caretakers with them into the base, heading towards the infirmary and failing to notice that Opossumon had turned into an egg right where it died.

***********************************  
Watching events unfold from the library window was Seraphimon, who was impressed by what he had seen and also heard. 

“It’s been a long time since I’ve felt true hope like this.” he said, his body shimmering again for a moment as if he was regaining his strength, “Sheena, I am truly looking forward to seeing you and your partner grow.”

The angelic lord then looked off to the side, at a mural depicting what seemed to be an angel surrounded by musical bars and notes.

“Perhaps, I’ll be able to see you again too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, in this chapter we see Puttimon and Tylamon digivolve, and also meet a weakened Seraphimon. While Seraphimon isn't an egg like what happened to him when Mercurymon faced him in Frontier, he is still in need of a staff to try and walk. As for Mervamon? I liked the MervamonxBeezlemon ship in Digimon Fusion, and wanted to do something similar here. Also, the next arc will also show just how bad Lillithmon is when it comes to everyone's favorite demon lord digimon. As for the collar envy bit? Compare Myotismon and Doctor Strange's collars on their capes.
> 
> And yes, Seraphimon's question about what Sheena is the Knight of is referring to the crests.
> 
> Now, let's talk about digimon partners!
> 
> 1\. Vukumon: Vukumon is Sheena's partner and her digivolution line are all original digimon, and at this point, she's the only original digimon to appear at all. I actually made up Vukumon back when the first series of Digimon started showing in the US, and back then she was just a lavender recolor of Biyomon while her champion level is something I'll talk about later. As for her current look as described in the fic? Well, besides looking a lot more like a falcon, the headband was inspired by Gaomon from Savers. 
> 
> 2\. Kudamon: Percy's partner uses the version of Kudamon shown in Savers partly for the scarf thing it does with his partner in the show, and for another reason I won't be able to talk about until Chapter 7. Again. Also, Kudamon would have responded to Oppossumon with a "Says you." but while editing for AO3, I changed it to what it is now for a better burn. If you thought Percy was going to get Lucemon due to Puttimon though? No. I already gave a demon-lord related digimon to one kid. Not going to have two Demon Lords among the kids' partners.
> 
> 3\. Phascomon: Tina's partner is... iffy. I honestly had trouble thinking of a good partner for her, until I went through Phasocmon's line and reached Astamon. However, as Astamon can also become Belphemon, I will go on and say that Tina, for the sake of my sanity, will not be having her partner become Belphemon. Her partner will not become Quartzmon from Hunters either. In fact, when Astamon shows up? He'll have a brown mask rather than the blue one the Hunters!Astamon had.
> 
> 4\. Black PawnChessmon: Jean's partner and the more formal of the PawnChessmon Twins. He's more willing to fight than White, but near the end of this arc will be in a good chunk of trouble, and will also reveal something about his Mega Level once we get to the third arc on AO3.
> 
> 5\. White PawnChessmon: Lazy, Cowardly, and not one for fighting unlike his partner, Scott. However, he's also very good at Chess, and is a bit more willing to show his fear than his brother, Black.
> 
> 6\. Demi-Meramon: Tandy's partner who will evolve next chapter into Candlemon. If you know what Candlemon digivolves to, then yes, Tandy will get a wizard. As for whether or not it's THE Wizardmon from the original series? I'll answer that after Chapter 10.
> 
> 7\. Ryudamon: Esteban's partner... uh... honestly? He doesn't get much characterization until much, much later. Like the notes for chapters I haven't written and posted to tumblr yet later. In fact, he's kind of the Silent Bob of the group for now.
> 
> 8\. Pupumon: Bruce's partner who will become Fanbeemon in Chapter five. While I can't say much about his past until the second Arc, I will say that Bruce's partner has a mystery that won't be solved until the Third Arc.
> 
> 9\. Dodomon: Megan's partner. I feel like in the first arc, this guy gets some good development in terms of character, and I'll also be referencing the only Digimon movie without humans in it, X-evolution when it comes to this guy. I'll also admit that his and Megan's relationship... is going to be a bit sad once he's digivolved to Champion level. He also won't get in many fights due to that evolution, and also as a reference to one of Dodomon's potential final forms.


	4. DemiMeramon's Resolve and Vegiemon's Trap

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> DemiMeramon wanders off while the other six teens in the group are training, and Tandy goes after him.

Captain America watched as he oversaw six of the kids spar. While Beelzemon had insisted they come along, the avenger had to at least argue that they needed to be able to defend themselves, just in case their partners were badly injured, and Cap himself was busy. Of course, while the three remaining kids who’s partners haven’t reached Rookie yet were only allowed to watch, the rest had been paired up and gotten started.

Sheena and Scott were the first to go, while their partners Vukumon and White PawnChessmon joined them. Scott’s eye was still recovering, and he was reluctant to face Sheena again after being beaten by her back on Earth, but quickly changed his mind when Sheena suggested fighting Tina instead, mainly due to the fact that Scott had obvious feelings for the bratty girl. Cap then noted that so far, the two were the best fighters, and that Sheena had a pretty mean right hook along with a left one just as nasty. As for their digimon, Vukumon managed to stay out of range of the white soldier’s spear by taking to the air, creating a whirlwind with her wings called “V-Whirlwind,” and shooting the beam he saw her use the night before on Opossumon. Of course, after dodging another attack from her opponent, the red and lavender falcon’s wings and armored feet started to glow, before sending out four beams that joined into one and started bouncing all around the room before hitting White PawnChessmon, knocking him out of the ring just as Scott was knocked out by Sheena.

Next, came Tina and Jean as well as their partners, Phascomon and Black PawnChessmon. While the two girls weren’t the best fighter, they could still somewhat handle their own in a fight, especially Jean who used a training staff that had been lying on the floor, and even handed a second one to Tina. As for their partners, Phascomon apparently played dirty by sending out a wave that made the black armored soldier yawn, somehow, before paralyzing him with a move called “Eucalyptus Claw.“ While Phascomon won the fight between digimon though, Tina lost the fight between her and Jean, and started complaining while her opponent apologized.

Tina, was definitely going to need to learn how not to be a sore loser.

Finally, came Percy and Kudamon against Esteban and Ryudamon. Cap wasn’t sure where the glasses wearing boy got the training swords, but as he gave one to Percy as well, Cap was surprised to see Esteban wield his blade like a decently trained fencer, while Percy swung his around like a complete amateur and also employed cheap moves like kicks to the groin and punches towards his opponent while Esteban deflected Percy’s sword.

As for their digimon, Cap noted that Kudamon was pretty quick, and while using the Bullet Whirlwind from last night, it seemed to be no use against Ryudamon’s armor, and with the dragon counterattacking, the bullet weasel barely managed to dodge. This was followed up with an earring that Cap had failed to notice on Kudamon before flashing, and blinding the armored dragon, before following up with a beam of light that the bullet weasel fired after the markings on its back glowed for a moment. Ryudamon however, recovered and not only tried to fire a katana into his opponent’s chest, but also created a few small explosions with a move called TERA Blast. This last moved managed to knock all the combatants out of the ring, and also nearly hurting Cap, who had to hide behind his shield.

Meanwhile, Tandy, Bruce and Megan were watching with their partners, DemiMeramon, Pupumon, and surprisingly, a digivolved Dodomon that now called itself Dorimon. While Bruce took a handkerchief to polish up his partner’s white shell, Dorimon and DemiMeramon seemed eager to join in as they cheered everyone on during the fights.

“Come on Tandy!” the little fireball then said, “I want to try to fight too!”

“No way!” said his partner, the girl messing with her long black hair as she looked on with worry, “Besides, I don’t even know how to fight!”

“Fine! I’ll just go explore instead!” DemiMeramon then said, before flying out of the room. Tandy, however, panicked a bit and went after her partner, just as Dorimon decided to jump out of Megan’s arms and rush towards Cap. The first avenger however, seemed to sense this coming and managed to grab the little furball in time, before it could hit him with a tackle.

“Dorimon, while I appreciate your enthusiasm, I can’t let you join in yet.” Cap then said, while the little digimon chanted “I wanna” over and over again as it struggled in his hands. Megan was about to come over as well while the hero struggled to keep the purple furball still, but then stopped as Dorimon then bit Captain America right on the arm.

The shout that followed could be heard all the way to Beelzemon’s chambers, where the resistance leader had been trying to take a nap.

~~000~~

Meanwhile, Tandy had chased her partner all the way out of the base, and into the city ruins that were on top of it. Of course, as she focused on her partner while making her way through the crowds of Digimon that were living their day to day life with the Resistance, by the time she caught up to her digimon, she soon noticed that not only were they lost, but also standing in front of a tower covered in vines.

“DemiMeramon…” Tandy then said, looking worried, “Maybe we should go back, I mean, Cap could end up getting worried if he notices we’re gone!”

“No way!” said the fireball as it flew closer to the vines, “I want to explore, and you’re not going to stop me! _Flame Shot_!”

The digimon then shot a small ball of fire from its mouth, creating a hole in the vines big enough for both of them to go through and went inside. Tandy however, sighed as she followed, only wanting to go back to the base with her partner, and decided that it would probably be better to humor it instead of dragging it back there by force.

Little did they know however, that deep inside the ruins, a threat had sensed them enter. This threat, was a green digimon with long vines for arms, no legs, and a petty ugly face. As it started to chuckle, it spoke to itself while releasing a sweet smell from its mouth.

“Vegiemon smells some lost folks in his house.” it said, “Time for Vegiemon to get himself a meal!”

Back with Tandy though, she started smelling something sweet, and started running ahead. “Hey, maybe it’s something nice!” she said, more to herself than her partner, while DemiMeramon covered the spot where a nose would be on his face.

“It reeks to me.” it said, before following after her, only to hear her scream and see a vine reach out and grab the girl. As a second vine went towards the little digimon while the first dragged Tandy away, DemiMeramon thought he was done for, until the vine recoiled at touching its fiery body. Filled with determination to save his partner despite how the two have been so far, the little ball of fire chased after the other vine down the hall.

~~000~~

Back at the base, Beelzemon yawned as he entered the training room, noting the kids sitting around and taking a break, and Megan apologizing to Cap while Bruce wrapped up the man’s arm. Of course, then he noticed that one of the kids and their partner was missing, and spoke up.

“Where’s Tandy and DemiMeramon?” he said, getting Cap’s attention as the avenger quickly counted up the kids and their partners, and coming up with eight instead of nine each. Getting up quickly, Cap then walked over to the door when Megan spoke up.

“She and DemiMeramon got into a fight, and when her partner ran off, she went after him.” the little girl said, while Dorimon grumbled in the corner, “Cap didn’t see her leave because Dorimon distracted him, and he’s being punished now.”

“I see…” Beelzemon sighed as he covered his face with his hand.

“I’ll find her.” Cap then said, picking up his shield and heading out.

“I’ll have one of the other digimon help you out,” Beelzemon then stated, before whistling. This ended up summoning a small white cat digimon with yellow, red-striped and clawed gloves on her front paws, and a gold ring on her long tail.

“You called Lord Beelzemon?” the small cat purred, causing Cap to raise an eyebrow.

“Gatomon,” said Beelzemon then, “One of the kids and their partners ran off, I want you to help the captain find them. With your skills as a tracker, this shouldn’t be hard.”

“Got it sir!” Gatomon said, and so after climbing up on to Cap’s back, the two went off on their mission. Eventually, they managed to find the ruins covered with vines, and the cat digimon started to groan.

“Oh no… not that guy.” she said, while Cap’s interest piqued.

“Excuse me?”

“Vegiemon.” she then said, “He’s been causing trouble to the point we can’t get any digimon to live out here. He lures them into his lair with a sweet smell, and well, destroys them and sending their eggs back to the Primary Village in the process. ”

“What?!” Cap said, “Well, we gotta go in, now! If that’s true, then Tandy and DemiMeramon are in trouble, and humans don’t turn into Digi-eggs when they die.”

The super soldier then ran into the ruins, Gatomon sighing as she followed.

“This, is not going to end well…”

~~000~~

Back inside the ruins, DemiMeramon had reached the main chamber of the ruin, and spotted Tandy wrapped up in a vine on the ground, struggling to break free. It was then that the little fireball noticed the source of the two vines, and shouted at it.

“Give me back my partner you rotten tomato!”

“Vegiemon is no tomato!” said the plant digimon, before blasting what looked like piles of compost at the fireball. Though they hit, they didn’t do any damage, instead just adding fuel to the fire and making the small digimon bigger. While also making the room stink.

“Fireball!” said DemiMeramon then, blasting Vegiemon enough for Tandy to free her arms, and also notice that her watch was acting up and telling the girl that her partner was ready to Digivolve. Acting quickly Tandy remembered what Sheena mentioned about what she and Percy had to do to evolve their partners, and quickly pushed the Unlock and Digivolve buttons, while placing her index finger on the screen. A beam of light then hit the little fireball and it started to change.

“DemiMeramon digivolve to,” it said, and when the light vanished, the flame digimon was now lighting the wick of a living white candle, with arms, red eyes, a mouth, and a golden base. “Candlemon!”

“Paraffin Paralyzer” It then shouted, just as Cap and Gatomon entered the room to see that Tandy’s partner was now throwing globs of wax that hit Vegiemon, and stuck its arms to the ground as well as keeping it in place completely. Cap took this chance to throw his shield, cutting the vines that were keeping Tandy trapped and allowing the girl to run over behind the supersoldier. Vegiemon however, opened its mouth and let loose another attack.

“Stink Jet!” the plant then said, letting loose a stream of green gas that caused Cap, Gatomon and Tandy to cover their noses. However, Candlemon simply opened its mouth with a counter attack.

“Lava Loogie!” the candle then cried, and spat out a fireball that struck the stream of gas and set it on fire. The flames going all the way back to Vegiemon and causing it to burn to a crisp.

With the digimon defeated, Cap watched as its data went past them, most likely heading towards the village, and clapped his hands.

“Good work.” he said, “Now, lets get you back to base, you may have saved your partner Candlemon, but she wouldn’t have been in trouble if you didn’t run off in the first place. From now on soldier, don’t go off on your own, understand?”

“Yeah, yeah.” Candlemon said with a shrug, and as the group left, the now rookie level digimon hopped after them.

“Um Cap…” Tandy then said, “Er, I really don’t think I’ll be able to do well in the sparring matches, I don’t know how to fight.”

“Don’t worry.” Cap said, “I’ll be sure to teach you, and I think the others can help you as well. Sheena, Scott, Jean, Esteban and even Percy seem to be good at taking care of themselves.”

“Thanks…” Though Tandy was really grateful, she couldn’t help but feel uncomfortable about fighting at all.

~~000~~

Elsewhere, a green armored digimon covered in silver mirrors waited at the entrance of his palace on top of Infinity Mountain, the tall spire of stone overlooking all of File Island. This digimon was Mercurymon, and the red lips on the otherwise featureless mirror making up his “face” smiled as he watched a pair of Devidramon fly in with a black cage between them. As the demonic looking dragons landed, a green ogre digimon opened the cage and brought out an adult human male with black hair, brown eyes, black shoes and a black t-shirt with blue jeans, while a solitary light glowed a bright blue on his chest. The look in his eyes showed that he was not too happy about being chained up and tried to struggle free before another Ogremon arrived to help keep him still.

“So, the prisoner has arrived.” Said the mirrored digimon, “I am so glad to play host to Lord Plutomon’s esteemed… ‘guest.’ Allow me to introduce myself to you Tony Stark, I am Mercurymon.”

“You look more like a creep to me.” said Tony, before spitting on his captor’s face, and as the saliva slid down the surface of the mirror, Mercurymon’s lips frowned.

“My, so full of fire despite losing your little suit of armor. That needs to be fixed, I see.”

“Yeah, whatever you and your boss have planned… it’s not going to work. I’m pretty sure my team will rescue me, and that you will get your mirrored face broken pretty badly.” Tony said with a smirk. “You see, I got hope.”

“We’ll have to see how long it takes before you lose it, then, won’t we?” Mercurymon said with a smile, before looking at his minions, “Take him to my lab, I have a procedure to do.”

The ogres we silent as they dragged Tony away, apparently acting like they have nothing better to do than just follow orders, like they had been broken somehow by the . As they passed their master though, Tony gave one last defiant look, before being taken into another room where he wasn’t sure what exactly waited for him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, here we meet Mercurymon in-story, as well as see Tony again. Now, originally, Tony would have been not seen until the very last arc of the whole entire fic. However, I decided to just put him here instead when I realized I had no idea how long that will take until I reach that part as I'm still plotting out the rest of Arc Three as of 4/25/2016.
> 
> Now, as I mentioned in the notes for the previous chapter, Candlemon will be evolving into Wizardmon, but if you notice, even as DemiMeramon he decided to go in and save Tandy like a loyal little fireball instead of running off. This is a hint to his Mega Form, but the truth won't start being revealed until the chapter Dorimon here reaches Champion Level.
> 
> I will however, say that the kids' partners in this fic aren't programmed to be automatically loyal to their human partners like the chosen digimon from the first season of the show were. In fact, all nine digimon had died at some point in the digital world's history, but something kept them from coming back right away. In the second arc, we'll be meeting the guy who took care of the nine cores until the children arrived. Also, these digimon will remember their old lives at different rates, but they're memories won't be perfect right away, so there will be some inconsistencies between what's known by other digimon, and what's remembered by the kids' partners.


	5. Someone Gets Sacked and Fanbeemon Arrives!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bruce visits with the Resistance's doctor, Valkyrimon. But when some sick Rookie Digimon show up it's soon realized that something's up. Meanwhile, Cap and Beelzemon have a chat in the techlab.

Nine year old Bruce Davidson yawned as he woke up, and was surprised to see that Pupumon wasn’t next to him on his pillow. Instead, there was a small yellow digimon with big green eyes, a tiny silver stinger, four legs and six wings staring at him instead.

“Pupumon?” Bruce asked, while the little insect yawned and shook its head.

“Nope! I’m Puroromon now.” it said, before sitting on the boy’s head as he put on his shirt to cover up a few surgical scars on his chest, and clipped on his bow-tie before adding his suspenders and purple pants. After breakfast, Bruce then headed towards the training hall, only to learn from Jean that because of Ryudamon hurting Esteban and Percy, the kids had been given a day off to rest under Beelzemon’s orders. Of course, the red headed girl then coolly called the little boy’s partner adorable, before she headed off with Black PawnChessmon, leaving little Bruce alone.

The boy then headed to the infirmary to see his fellow knights, and when he got there, he was surprised to see the two older boys bandaged up and still asleep, while a digimon that looked more like a bird themed superhero with a sword and a quiver of arrows at their hip, a golden bird on their shoulder and also white wings on their back with red tipped feathers. This digimon was Valkyrimon, as Bruce remembered from Myotismon’s tour, and it seemed she was busy looking over an armored, angelic digimon.

“Well Seraphimon,” said the medic, “I’m happy to say that you seem to finally be recovering your strength, I was starting to get worried, but you still need to use your staff to walk for a little while longer.”

“That’s fine.” said the angel, before turning his helmeted head towards Bruce, “Ah, but it seems you have a visitor.”

Valkyrimon then turned her head and looked at the little boy and his partner, before smiling. While the boy couldn’t see her eyes thanks to the visor, he still felt he could trust the doctor as he gave a small wave.

“Hello Bruce.” she said, as Seraphimon slowly got up and picked up his staff.

“And I must be going,” said the angel as he headed out of the room only yo pause and see the little digimon on Bruce’s head, “Oh, and Bruce was it? You seem to be taking good care of your friend, keep up the good work, won’t you?”

“I-I will…” Bruce said quietly, before looking back at Valkyrimon. “H-How are you today?”

“Oh I’m fine,” she then said with a smile, “I take it you want to see Percy and Esteban?” Seeing Bruce nod, she sighed.

“They’re still resting right now, so I can’t allow any visitors yet. However, if you’d like, I could give you and Puroromon a check up.”

“Okay.” Bruce said, and so the digimon helped him up onto the examination table Seraphimon had sat on, and went to work. Checking blood pressure, throat, eyes, reflexes, heart rate, ears, body temperature, and breathing, the doctor smiled.

“You’re doing alright Bruce.” she then said, “Though, you do have a bit of a high pulse, are you nervous?”

“A little…” Bruce admitted shyly, “I’m still getting used to being here, but I like seeing all the different digimon! Especially the animals!”

“Oh?” Valkyrimon said as she went to work to check on Puroromon, “Why the beast, bird and insect digimon specifically?”

“Because back home, momma works as a doctor for animals, while dad worked to take care of them at the zoo!” Bruce then said happily, “I liked reading their books, so I feel I know a little about them as well.”

“I see, so you want to be a doctor as well some day?” Valkyriemon said as she took the little bug’s temperature.

“Yup!” Bruce said with a smile, which the medical digimon then returned with a slight chuckle.

“Well, I wouldn’t mind having a little help here then, come by whenever you have time.” she then said, “Also, Puroromon is certainly healthy, and I think he’s getting close to digivolving again as well. You’re doing a wonderful job making him happy.”

Of course, the good mood was then ruined when four digimon came in: A gray bear with a blue cap, a green worm, a little red, white, and teal dragon and also a yellow, short tailed lizard. All four didn’t look so good, and as Bruce noted, they seemed to all have puncture wounds somewhere on their bodies.

“Oh dear what happened!?” Valkyrimon said worriedly, before doing her best to get them all into separate beds for examination.

“We… we were walking past Myotismon’s office when we started feeling sick,” said the bear while Bruce did his best to help the medic get her patients settled. “So all four of us decided to come here to see you.”

The little dragon ended up throwing up into a bucket before being placed in bed, and Valkyrimon checked all four out to find they shared common symptoms of fever, nausea and fatigue. While Bruce helped by wrapping up the wounds, the doctor then thought about what they said about Myotismon’s office, and she remembered that the undead digimon did not really like anything under Champion level, and that lately he seemed a little surly. Bruce however, pointed out the puncture marks on the four patients, causing the medic to growl as she started to figure out what was going on.

“Flare,” Valkyrimon then said to the bird on her shoulder, “Stay here and watch the patients, I’m going to have a chat with Myotismon. Bruce, you come with me, as much as I trust Flare, I may need a little help in case more digimon get sick.”

“Yes ma’am!” the little blond boy said as he followed behind with his digimon partner quickly flying after them.

~~000~~

Meanwhile down in the techlab, Captain America and Beelzemon were speaking with a hooded digimon that despite looking faceless, had two glowing yellow eyes peeking from the hood created from his long, cream-colored scarf which seemed to form a wing behind him while the other side looked rather tattered, and also wore a burgundy robe underneath it . As he had a very large book open behind him while Cap also noticed two orbs -one red, the other yellow- hovering near his head as his clawed, pitch black hands tapped away at a keyboard, the head of the Resistance's tech department seemed like he was rather fitting for his position.

Of course, those orbs still made the super soldier feel uneasy.

“So, you’re one of the humans then?” said the digimon, Beelzemon having introduced him as Wisemon to the superhero after he stopped typing long enough to look at his guests, “I’m sorry for not getting a chance to meet you and the children before, Captain, but Myotismon never visited me on his tour. Of course, he and I don’t get along too well anyway, considering I have told him to his face _exactly_ what I thought of him.” Wisemon then turned and held out his right hand to the super soldier, causing Cap to notice not just the gold bracelets on his wrist as he shook Wisemon’s hand, but also the black shoes the digimon had on his feet, that were accented with a bit of gold as well.

“Still mad about me giving him the Mission and Intelligence Management job, aren’t you?” Beelzemon said a bit distantly, while Wisemon simply crossed his arms.

“I still think something terrible will happen while he’s in charge.” the hooded digimon said, “He may have helped us flee the Center of Light, but that _royal whiner_ never stops complaining about losing his undead kingdom. He’s not even the real ruler of the undead digimon, since the true ruler, GranDracmon has been more helpful as warden for the dungeon leading to my lab, than Myotismon has in his position. Not to mention a much more pleasant fellow to talk to.”

As Wisemon ranted on, Cap couldn’t help but notice Beelzemon seemed to have his mind on other things, and decided to speak up.

“Beelzemon, are you alright?” he said, causing the resistance leader to flinch and come to attention.

“Wh-what? Oh,yeah… I’m fine.” Beelzemon then said, “I’m just a bit worried for… uh… a friend… that’s all.”

“Mervamon?” Cap then asked, remembering seeing Beelzemon in the infirmary the other night with the female digimon. The demon lord then blushed a good bit and stammered in response.

“W-Well uh… I mean… H-how did you know!?” he said, which caused Wisemon to look up from the data he was gaining from Opossumon’s digi-egg.

“Captain,” Wisemon then said as he then sent out long, metallic spider-like legs from under his robe to better probe the digi-egg, “If you must know, our leader has two things that will cause him to act like a fool. Mervamon, and talking in front of a camera. The latter doesn’t happen often, but as for the former, the _whole Resistance_ can see he has a major crush on her.”

Beelzemon simply grumbled and covered his now pink face with a wing, before he headed to another room. Cap then followed, a little unnerved at how casually Wisemon was just poking the egg with those… things he sent out.

Within the next room, Cap saw the resistance leader sitting on the floor against a wall, his head in his hands and his wings hiding the rest of him. Sitting down next to him, cap examined his shield as he spoke.

“Alright,” he said, “I think I need to know a bit more about what’s going on.”

“What do you mean?” Beelzemon said, raising a wing to look at Cap.

“Well for starters, who is Mastemon, and why did you seem to clam up when you first informed me and the kids about what’s going on?”

“Oh… that…” Beelzemon then groaned, “Mastemon was the digital world’s queen, and she was a good digimon too. Hell, she even gave me a second chance.”

“So what happened to her?”

Beelzemon looked away, and groaned. “I was there. I tried my best to protect her as a royal guard alongside Mervamon, but well… Plutomon’s minions kept us busy and… the monster split her into two halves and sent them away! He did what Barbamon always planned to do: get rid of Mastemon.”

“Who’s Barbamon?”

Beelzemon sighed as he stare at the floor. “Cap? I used to be part of a group known as the Seven Great Demon Lords. Barbamon was not only our leader, but unfortunately the bastard who kidnapped me and stole the eggs of the others to make us who we were. In fact, the only reason I was taken at all as an impmon was because I was just trying to rescue the eggs when Leomon arrived. But no matter what Barbamon did, he couldn’t get rid of Leomon’s teachings before that day, not even when he planned to attack the Primary Village before it relocated to File Island.”

“So, what happened… and what do you mean by relocated?”

“I… may have snuck out of our camp to warn Leomon… After I got him to recognize me since I kind of changed a lot since he last saw me.” Beelzemon said with a sly smile, “Anyway, the Lords and I were arrested when he got too cocky and I watched Barbamon, Leviamon, Daemon, Belphemon and Lucemon be executed for their crimes, leaving only me and Lilithmon. Leomon however, vouched for me when it was my turn. Mastemon… well, she gave me an offer to atone for my misdeeds and become a part of the Royal Guard. I wasn’t sure of myself at first, since I felt like I didn’t deserve the second chance… but she showed me some things, other universes where I existed and actually helped save the digital world… I sacrificed myself in one though, but it was still enough to convince me to take her offer.”

“So, where did Mervamon come in?” Cap then asked, feeling a little more understanding of Beezlemon, “And what happened to Lilithmon?”

“Mervamon… well, she came in as soon as I accepted the offer back when she used to be called Minervamon. Unfortunately, she misunderstood the situation and tried to kill me, but it was cleared up.” Beezlemon said, chuckling a bit before growing rather quiet. “Lilithmon however… though I convinced Mastemon to spare her, she wouldn’t change and was thrown in prison. Plutomon apparently released her, and placed her in charge of the next ring. The one digimon who was like a sister to me, and she went insane because she thought I betrayed her and the others after being charmed by Mastemon. I did betray the Demon Lords, but only because I was sick of Barbamon’s twisted values and surrendered to Mastemon to spite him rather than follow his orders further.”

Cap remained silent for a moment, not sure what to say and decided to leave the subject of Beelzemon’s days as a Demon Lord alone for now.

~~000~~

Outside of Myotismon’s office however, Valkyrimon, Bruce and Puroromon were shocked to see a pair of small bat-like digimon fluttering over and attacking Salamon, who looked rather ill. While Bruce tried to shoo them away however, Valkyimon then noticed that the door to the vampire’s office was open and saw that the Myotismon was just sitting there watching the bullying and smiling, before glaring at Bruce for stepping in.

Valkyrimon then rushed in and slammed the door, followed by a very loud argument, the sound of something being broken and what might have been an actual tornado as Bruce and his partner was left with the two digimon.

“Those are DemiDevimon.” Puroromon then squeaked as the the other two digimon fluttered around and smirking.

“Well, well, looks like we’s gotta new playmate!” said one, while the other merely grinned and attacked.

“Demi Dart!” the second shouted, before throwing a syringe at the little bug, but was surprised to see the quick digimon dodge the attack and sting one of them. Angry, the two bat-like digimon then started throwing demi-darts, all of them missing until one started heading towards Bruce, forcing his partner to take the hit to protect him.

“Puroromon!” Bruce said, catching the little digimon.

“Bruce…” said the bug after the boy removed the syringe, “I gotta… keep on fighting!”

“But… what if you get really hurt, or worse?” the boy asked, his eyes tearing up.

“As long as your safe, I don’t care!” the bug squeaked, and it was then, that Bruce’s D-watch started reacting. Acting quickly, the boy unlocked rookie level, clicked the digi-volve button and tapped the screen, allowing a beam of light to hit Puroromon and surround him.

“Puroromon, Digivolve to,” it said, and once the light cleared, the little bug became a large bee with green eyes, blue antenna, and a serrated stinger. “FanBeemon!”

“Uh-oh!” the DemiDevimon twins said, before the now fully healed Rookie attacked.

“Gear Stinger x10!” It said, before its stinger fired repeatedly at the two of them, knocking them out just as Valkyrimon came out of the office with a knocked out Myotismon. Picking up Salamon as well, the medic dropped the puppy off at the infirmary and treated her wounds. Then, with Bruce and the DemiDevimon in tow, headed straight to the Tech Lab.

~~000~~

Back at the lab however, Beelzemon and Cap chuckled a bit as they swapped stories.

“So, when I returned to Gallantmon after the mission, I was quarantined to my room until I stopped smelling like Sukamon!” Beelzemon said as he recounted a mission from his days as a Royal Guard Trainee, “It took weeks to get the shit out of my feathers though.”

Of course, the mirth soon ended as Valkyrimon barged in, looking rather angry as she dragged a handcuffed Myotismon behind her, the vampire looking like he had not only been nearly killed, but had been scared out of his mind as well.

“What’s going on?” Beelzemon then asked, while Cap decided to keep silent as he noticed Bruce was there with what looked like a large bee.

“Beelzemon.” Valkyrimon said rather coldly, “Myotismon has been using DemiDevimon to attack rookie level digimon in front of his office. When Bruce and I got there, not only was his door open, he was watching with glee as Salamon became his latest victim.”

“Is this true, Myotismon?” Beelzemon said just as Wisemon entered the room, the resistance leader’s tone becoming quite serious as he glared at the vampire.

“N-No!” Myotismon said, while the DemiDevimon that were brought with them spoke up.

“Yes it is! Boss told us to attack the rookies as payback for being forced to watch the Primary Village when the substitute care takers were too injured to do their job!”

When Beelzemon spread his wings and seemed to have a yellow glow appear on his left arm, Cap immediately stepped away before noticing Wisemon. Despite the digimon’s face being obscured, he could swear it felt like the mysterious digimon was actually smiling at what was to come.

“Myotismon, I gave you your position because I trusted you _not_ to pull a stunt like this. I _will not_ have the digimon I protect with the Resistance be abused by my followers, understand me?” Beelzemon then growled, causing the vampire to gulp before nodding. “I gave you a chance before, but it seems you shouldn’t handle the intelligence reports and missions anymore, Myotismon. Until we can set up a trial, you and your two accomplices are going to be in prison.”

“Yes… yes sir…” Myotismon said, just as Wisemon barely stopped a chuckle from coming out. Beelzemon then turned to look at the hooded digimon before speaking again.

“Wisemon, before you say anything, I want you to know you… were right.” he then said as he calmed down and the yellow glow disappearing. “So, I’d like to apologize to you and give you Myotismon’s old job.”

“Apology accepted.” Wisemon then said cheerfully, “Though, I do hope you learned something from this, and will listen to me in the future.”

~~000~~

Meanwhile in the library, Seraphimon had just sent Sheena off to bed after having a nice chat with the human girl. Of course, as he felt a bit more hope in the air, his body shimmered once more as he took a moment to stretch.

“I am glad that there is hope building in the Resistance,” he said, before looking down at the ground. “However, I also sense that Mercurymon has stolen a large amount of Hope away… I believe it may be time for the Resistance to act… whether the Knights are completely ready, or not.”

~~000~~

In Mercurymon’s palace, the mirrored maniac smiled as he saw Tony’s eyes lose their spark of life. While the man was still alive, the completed procedure had left him broken and empty inside- and much like the Ogremon that served Mercurymon, he couldn’t even put up a fight.

“Another success.” Mercurymon said smugly, “Though I’ll admit, it did take a full day to drain you of your hope, and my, my, what a myriad of issues you’re hiding underneath that armor of defiance you wear! I just love pulling digimon and people apart with their problems… it is so satisfying when they go into pure despair.”

Tony Stark said nothing in response, and with one last test passed in the mind of the evil Mercurymon, the monster laughed maniacally.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, for those that expected Myotismon to turn out to be a dick, congratulations you were right!
> 
> Anyway, while Bruce's partner was only an In Training level digimon, Puroromon was a tough little bug wasn't he? I mean, in hindsight, taking a demi-dart would probably have killed other digimon at Puroromon's level, right? Also, I feel like this chapter establishes that not only does Bruce have something to hide from most of everybody else, but he's also just one sweet cinnamon bun of a kid. 
> 
> Also, no. Bruce will not turn evil like another digi-destined who's just a cinnamon roll. You know who I mean.
> 
> As for Myotismon? His defeat here will start a feud of sorts between him and Bruce that will show up again in Arc Two, and what happens when he shows up again will be disturbing, a reference to the V-Tamer 01 manga, and also freaking glorious.
> 
> Also, if you know your Digimon Adventure Lore, then you know what tormenting Salamon is a reference to. 
> 
> As for the four digimon that arrived in the infirmary? Bearmon, Wormmon, Dracomon and Agumon if you're wondering. 
> 
> Also, Wisemon was fun to write, and his later appearances will make him out to be a smart ass of a troll. Especially when relationships are involved. As for the spider leg thing? Well, in at least one ep of Digimon Fusion, Wisemon sent them out to probe Mikey during his game with Nene's brother, mainly to find a way to cheat and get the doorway out of there open. Those things will show up again as well.
> 
> Finally, I'd like to say that I feel this chapter is what starts a friendship between Beelzemon and Captain America, and also starts to show a bit of depth to the demon lord as well.


	6. The Rescue Mission Begins and Esteban's Shocking Reveal.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cap, Beezlemon and the kids set out to rescue Tony, and then trouble finds them.

It had only been an hour since the Knights, Cap and Beezlemon left the Resistance Base to begin their mission to rescue Tony Stark from the factory the monitamon had reported him entering along with other prisoners. Of course, as their eyes seemed empty and lifeless that when Cap pointed it out, the heroes had soon learned why once Wisemon showed them something he found in Oppossumon’s memory. They saw that Mercurymon had drained the hope out of the poor digimon by using a machine to amplify his abilities, and manifest a shadow version of Oppossumon that represented its darkside and doubts. It tore down the little digimon until it couldn’t take anymore and became willing to do whatever Mercurymon said.

Fearing that had been what had happened to Tony, Cap and the others had decided to head out and get him out of the factory, and also get communications outside of the Monita network going again. Mainly since the factory was attached to the comm-station that had been shut down the last time the place was raided by the Resistance.

Unfortunately Tina Starling couldn’t help but complain as they moved through the jungle on foot.

“Ugh, its so hot out!” she groaned, while Esteban rolled his eyes while he and Ryudamon walked beside her.

“Well, it is a jungle.” he said as he adjusted his glasses, “It tends to be hot and humid out here.”

“Yeah, but I hate the heat!” said the bratty teen while her partner Phascomon flew next to her and yawned, “It makes me so sweaty and gross, and just disgusting all over!”

“Quit complaining Tina!” Cap then said as he moved through the jungle, “If you keep it up, there’s no telling when the enemy will strike!”

“Believe me Cap,” said Sheena with a sigh, “It’s near impossible to shut a spoiled brat like her up.”

“Oh shut it, Mutie.” Tina then said, causing her to earn a few dark looks from Cap, Sheena, Esteban and Percy while Tandy simply sighed and felt like she was about to get a headache. Beezlemon, however, simply raised a question out of confusion.

“What’s a ‘Mutie?’ Some sort of human thing?” the black winged ex-demon lord asked.

“It’s short for Mutant.” Cap answered, “And Tina, you shouldn’t call your teammates that.”

“Oh come on!” Tina then said as she put her hands on her hips, “How else do you explains Sheena’s hair? It certainly isn’t dyed pink. If it was her roots would show her real hair color. So the only conclusion is that her hair is that way naturally and therefore, she’s a mutant freak.”

Esteban clenched his hand around the hilt of the saber he brought with him from the base, as the rich girl accused Sheena of being a mutant all because of her hair color. Though it was true that some mutants had unusual features in their appearance, they normally had a special ability as well of some kind. However, Sheena only seemed to have some tech genius rather than anything else, while her parents were practically normal before the girl’s mom died. Esteban on the other hand, was the son of a mutant who also happened to be a superhero known as El Aguila, but as that had been kept secret for very good reasons, no one would suspect that Esteban was more likely to be a mutant than Sheena due to his parentage. Even if he was the class loner back on Earth, had no friends and a major mistrust of almost everyone- especially if they were adult women.

“You know, not all Mutants are easy to identify, Tina.” Esteban said rather coldly, “And not all Mutants are _malvado_ like you seem to have been raised to believe.”

“Shut it Esteban.” Tina said, “Mutants are dangerous! They could probably destroy the world or something if the more normal people let them!”

“I’m still confused.” Beezlemon said, “We have Mutant species of digimon, but that’s as normal as puppet and beast type digimon. Why do humans hate humans that are well… different?”

“Because they don’t fit their view of ‘normal,’ mate.” Percy said while Esteban quickly walked ahead and soon being followed by all but Scott and Jean leaving Tina to bring up the rear with their digimon partners. “Some people hate other people because they fear anything that they don’t understand, as sad as it is, it’s part of human history.”

As the party trekked on through the jungle, they were silent as recent events got them all thinking. Sheena of course, seemed pretty angry at Tina’s insult, while Vukumon did her best to comfort her partner. Cap however, seemed to be keeping an eye on Esteban, who seemed quieter than usual after the whole thing and wondered if something Tina had said managed to hit close to home. Of course, he considered the possibility of the boy being a mutant himself, but that seemed unlikely as he hadn’t shown anything out of the ordinary other than a high skill with tech like Sheena.

Later on however, the group reached a dead end as they reached a gorge that was supposed to have a bridge going across it. However, Beezlemon only stared in shock as it was not only gone, but bits and pieces of it scattered about the edges.

“Maybe there’s another way around it?” Megan then asked, before Bruce added, “We could fly across it though, right Beezlemon?”

“Huh? Oh… no… not really.” Beezlemon said once brought back to reality, “Not all of us digimon can fly, nor do I have enough strength to get all of us across quickly. If we go around it however, then we’d lose time on our mission by a few weeks. But the thing is, the bridge was here ever since I was a trainee, and it was even here the day all of you arrived at the base.”

“Maybe someone destroyed it to keep the resistance away?” Tandy then asked.

“Seems like it.” Jean then said as she crossed her arms and nodded. As for her brother Scott, he simply groaned.

“Aww man… and here I was hoping to get some action!”

“Don’t worry Scottie,” said White Pawn Chessmon, “we could always make camp and figure something out tomorrow.”

“Loathe as I am to say,” said its black armored doppelganger, “my lazy brother is correct.” 

The other kids began to agree, but as the peace of Tina being quiet had blessed them, it was soon taken away when the girl opened her mouth again.

“Ugh…. what is that smell?” she said, causing Beezlemon to look rather nervous.

“Smells like shi-” Percy began, before the resistance leader spoke up.

“Exactly, and unfortunately, I know what it is too.” he said as he wrapped his wings around his body and looking much darker than normal. “That… is the smell of a Sukamon.”

“What’s a Sukamon?” Bruce asked, and then something started heading towards the boy. Cap acted quickly and blocked the projectile as it went splat against his shield. As he examined it however, he saw that it was not only covering it, but also smelled pretty rank.

“That is not what I think it is.” the superhero said, while Beezlemon lowered his head while still protected by his wings.

“It is. It really is.” the demon lord said, just as the source of the projectile appeared. It was large, bright yellow, and looked like a living pile of fecal matter with thin arms and a pink rat on its back. The bottom part of the pile seemed to form a mouth and have a large tongue sticking out, while its big vacant looking eyes stared down the group.

“I had hoped you were joking about that thing!” Cap then told Beezlemon, but before the demon lord could respond a large web dropped down and grabbed the group and began dragging them up between two trees nearby. As they struggled free though, Esteban then looked up and saw the source of the web.

It was a giant monstrous spider with red hair, hands, and a skull on its thorax.

“Are you kidding me?!” Beezlemon shouted as he tried to break free, “A Dokugumon _and_ a Sukamon?! This just isn’t my day!”

“Well, well,” the spider said, “Lookee what got trapped in my web, Master Mercurymon’s enemies! Well, better destroy all of you and gain myself a promotion!”

As the spider laughed however, it was then that Esteban noticed that the web around Ryudamon had ripped and dropped him to the ground because of his weight. As the dragon digimon collected himself however, the spider soon started crawling closer to the group.

“Katana Attack!” it cried, and launched a blade from its mouth that managed to cut Esteban free and dropping him to the ground before hitting Dokugumon. As the glasses wearing boy gathered himself however, he ducked an attack from Sukamon, which ended up hitting Tina and covering her sweater in dung. Of course, the boy then noticed that his fingers were sparking with electricity and soon lifted his head up as he heard Dokugomon speak again.

“Poison Cobweb!” it shouted, and the boy rolled out of the way of the attack before holding out a hand and sending a ball of electrostatic energy at the spider, causing it to scream. “You don’t know who you’re dealing with, _araña._ You are dealing with _el hijo del Aguila!_ ”

Esteban then drew his sabre just as his D-Watch reacted, and acting quickly, activated it. A light then flashed as a bright beam struck Ryudamon, and it began to digivolve.

“Ryudamon digivolve to,” it cried, and as the light passed it was not only bigger, but more serpentine as the armored dragon samurai smiled. “Ginryumon.”

Esteban then jumped on his partner’s back, just as Sukamon fired another round of poop at the boy, who responded with a slash in the air and unleashing a wave of electricity that destroyed the projectiles as it swatted away Sukamon. As for Ginryumon though, it simply opened its mouth for its own attack.

“Metal Armor Blade!” the dragon said, and immediately fired spears from its mouth that stabbed and skewered Dokugumon. As the spider was immediately deleted, the web holding the others vanished and dropped them to the ground. Of course, Cap and Beezlemon was the first to get up, with Esteban actually sliding down Ginryumon’s tail and stopping on the ground with ease as if his agility actually seemed to get better. Of course, shortly after that, the larger dragon reverted back to its smaller form of Ryudamon, while Beezlemon flew over to their other assailant.

“Hello, Sukamon, Chuumon.” he said, before drawing a pistol that looked more like a sawed off shot gun in human hands and pointing it at the yellow pile.

“B-Beezlemon!” said the pink mouse on the digimon’s back said nervously as it saw a dark aura form around the demon lord digimon. “L-Long time no see… There’s no hard feelings, right?”

“Last time I had to hunt you down for the trouble you and your dumb muscle caused, I ended up stinking up to high heaven and confined to my chambers until the smell was gone!” Beezlemon said, a yellow mark appearing on his arm that showed an odd symbol under the sign for Venus as well as having much smaller symbols around it. What it meant Cap didn’t know, but he vaguely recalled seeing something similar when Myotismon was fired, and earlier that day when they saw Opposumon’s memory of Mercurymon. “Now you attack me, the Digi-knights and their human guardian with one of Mercurymon’s cronies!”

“I-It was Dokugumon’s idea!” the mouse pleaded, while the pile it sat on stared blankly, “I swear! H-He forced me!”

“All digimon know you’re a liar and a scam artist Chuumon.” Beezlemon said, getting ready to fire. “And now you’re trying to talk your way out of punishment, to a former member of the Seven Great Demon Lords.”

The kids and Cap all watched as Beezlemon seemed to look a bit more threatening to the mouse, who seemed to have created a smaller pink pile that merged with Sukamon out of fear.

“Beezlemon, calm down.” Cap said, causing the digimon to stop and look at the human before realizing what was happening and sighed. Looking back to Chuumon though, he saw that it and its partner was getting away and gave a warning shot as they fled. Watching as the blast clipped the pile of shit and feeling satisfied, he holstered the gun back where it belonged on his left leg.

Of course, while Beezlemon had been scaring the shit out of Chuumon, Esteban had noticed a spot of weakened data on the ground right where the bridge used to be. No one else seemed to have noticed it though, not even Bruce who was right next to it, and so Esteban decided to try something.

Placing a hand on top of the area, he flinched as a charge went through his body and into the ground, causing the data spot to glow before the stone cliff it was on shot out a thick slab of stone straight to the other side, which then formed into a new bridge with Eagle like ornaments at either end.

The black haired boy then stood up and adjusted his glasses, while Tina, who had just finished shaking the shit out of her sweater pushed him to the side and began crossing.

“Out of my way, Mutie.” she said, while Esteban simply got back off the ground and dusted himself off. As he watched the others go across though, he began wondering what he had seen in his former crush Tina in the first place, before looking up when Cap placed a hand on his shoulder.

“You did a good job.” the super soldier said with a smile, “And if it weren’t for your powers, we’d probably be spider food.”

“Thanks.” Esteban said, just as Ryudamon nudged him to get going, while Beezlemon brought up the rear in silence, ashamed that he let his dark side come out in front of the kids, and also considering Tina’s behavior towards Sheena and Esteban because they weren’t normal humans to be quite weird and even worse, distressing.

All he could hope was that her actions didn’t lead to a rift among the kids.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, we have our first digivolution to Champion level, and also see that one of the kids has powers of his own. Also, this chapter will be the last one where Tina's a complete bitch.
> 
> Now, if you noticed that bit about Esteban's social standing back on earth, and how he has trust issues, well... let's just say Esteban's childhood was Spanish soap opera levels of bad. As for who Esteban does trust? Well, that would be his dad, Steve and Ryudamon among the living. The only other person he trusted is a priest who uh... died in an alleyway. 
> 
> Next Chapter? Percy gets to handle things his way, and in the notes after that one, I'll mention how the Shocking Spaniard and the British Troublemaker will most likely be foils to each other.
> 
> Finally, for those wondering what Esteban is saying in Spanish:  
> 1\. Malvodo = terrible, bad, evil, etc.  
> 2\. araña = spider  
> 3\. el hijo del Aguila = the son of the Eagle


	7. Apemon's Madness

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Percy leaves camp to try and cool off a bit, but is followed by Cap. And then a giant ape attacks them.

It was the end of the second day of the trek to the factory, and at the moment, Cap, Beezlemon, and the kids were setting up Camp for the evening. Of course, once that was done and dinner was had our heroes started having some conversations among them. Tina and the twins were talking about how things might be back home after a week, while Bruce and Megan were giving Dorimon a checkup. Tandy meanwhile was busy talking to Candlemon and making sure the candle didn’t accidentally set the Jungle on fire. Beezlemon was lost in thought at the moment, while Cap was watching out for trouble.

Percy meanwhile, was listening in on a conversation held by Esteban and Sheena.

“So, you can create a bio-electrostatic charge and weaponize it?” Sheena had asked, while sitting next to yesterday’s hero after he manifested his mutant abilities in order to save the group, while the Spaniard’s partner also digivolved to Champion level.

“Yeah,” Esteban said as he adjusted his glasses and smiled as he was apparently a bit happy just being able to talk about himself now that the truth was exposed, “I can also see these… data patches scattered over an area and manipulate them just by using my imagination and a bit of charge.”

“That is so cool!” she then said, “Think you could probably power your own inventions with your powers as well?”

“Maybe, though I got to make sure I don’t short-circuit it in the process. Whenever Dad gets home from a particularly exciting bout of heroism, he tends to cause the breakers to blow… especially if there’s a hole in his sword’s sheath.”

“So that’s why your stuff needs to be brought to my dad’s shop as well, right?”

“Pretty much.”

As the two continued talking, Percy glared as he noticed just how chummy they were. Sure, he himself had special abilities as well, but not because of being a mutant. Of course, in order to keep his family out of trouble for his mother’s sake, Percy had to avoid using them and if he had an accidental witness, he had to lie his way out. He’d gotten pretty good at lying of course, especially while learning a few tricks from his maternal grandpa. Unfortunately, because of who his grandfather was, he couldn’t use them too often. If he did, people would ask questions, and when people ask too many questions then investigators had to get hired and they’d need to disappear or get thrown off track. Continuing the hypothetical, once people started disappearing then supers and SHIELD would get involved, and potentially Asgard to boot once it became clear just who his grandfather was.

Family secrets aside, Percy also remembered how back in Highland Academy, Esteban was more of a loner than he was, and while both he and the Spaniard really only interacted with Sheena the most, Esteban was more of a rival than an acquaintance. In fact, Percy even remembered that earlier in the semester, he, Sheena, and four friends of hers named Damien, Zack, Rita and Kite were grouped together for a project for their art class. While they were working on a clay statue of a trio of Norse warriors (it had been Rita’s idea), he had overheard Kite mention that Esteban had completely ignored one of his group members- Tandy Johnson’s suggestions, and also had pushed Kite herself out of his way before they entered the building, and also doing the same to Damien a little later. Percy had said nothing then, but did remember what Sheena had said in response.

_“Maybe he’s just going through some things he doesn’t want to talk about. He helped me out once when I started going to Highland two years ago, so there’s some good in him, right?”_

Realizing he was blushing as he thought about Sheena and also getting pissed off over Esteban, Percy and Kudamon then snuck into the jungle around the camp, hoping to do a little scouting and also for Percy to try and clear his head.

At least, he tried to sneak off. Little did he know, Cap had spotted him going off on his own, and despite having his partner with him, the super solder was a little worried the kid could get into trouble. As the super soldier followed the boy, he was also soon caught when he stepped on a twig and snapped it.

“Go back to the others Cap,” Percy said, without even looking at him, “I’m just doing a little scouting around.”

“No way.” Cap said as he crossed his arms and kept up with the teen, “Even with Kudamon, you still might get into trouble. Especially since you seem annoyed by something.”

“You’re seeing things.” Percy said, “But, if you insist on coming anyway, I won’t stop you.”

“Percy,” Kudamon then said with a sigh, “Something is bothering you… is it Sheena and Esteban?”

“No!” the teen then snapped, “Why would something bother me about them? I’m completely fine with the two of them getting along.”

Seeing how the boy’s face was red, Kudamon simply sighed and kept quiet, while Cap decided to see if anything else besides teenage romance was bothering him.

“So, what was it like at home?” he said, “Were things alright before this started?”

“Peachy.” Percy said dryly, “Mum trying to give me a normal life, Dad working his arse off to make ends meet after we move to New York, I didn’t have any problems whatsoever… till Thor and the rest of you lot showed up a week ago at school.”

Cap raised an eyebrow as the boy’s tone seemed to hold a bit of anger about Thor of all people, and wondered why that was. Of course, when he started asking questions, Percy just started keeping quiet and ignoring him. Despite this, the super soldier kept on trying anyway, until the boy stopped and closed his eyes.

“Will you..” he began, before turning opening his stormy gray eyes and raising his voice “Please just shut the bloody hell up!?”

For a moment, the whole jungle went quiet, almost too quiet. Percy, after getting a sinking feeling in his stomach soon realized they were in trouble and ducked.

“Metallic fur!” came a shout, and Cap followed suit as he saw what looked like needles heading towards him. When the two got back up however, they soon saw their attacker: a golden furred, blue skinned ape with a giant bone strapped to its back and a blank, wild look in its eyes.

“We got trouble!” Cap said as he drew his shield. “What is that?”

“That’s Apemon!” Kudamon said, “It’s a holy beast digimon like me, and should have a golden ring like I do!”

“Yeah, well I don’t see one!” Percy said just as the enemy pulled out the giant bone and prepared to swing at the punk. Cap immediately acted and got in front of Percy, blocking the blow with his shield but only to be knocked to the side in the process. Percy then took the chance and moved, Kudamon clinging to his neck as the maddened digimon seemed to chase him.

“TRICKSTER!” it screamed, causing the boy to momentarily flinch before he kept on running, “I refuse to let you take me from my Domain again Mercurymon!”

“Oi, we ain’t with that metal wanker!” Percy said and turned around, only for the digimon to roar and swing his bone at the boy who raised his arm and braced himself for the hit. What Apemon did not expect however, was that the bone would stop midswing, especially since it was now caught in Percy’s hand.

“What is this?!” he said, while Kudamon simply watched from his perch, noting that his parnter’s fingers seemed to turn a pale blue for a moment.

“Just something you can thank me mum for, me being a bit more durable than most people.” Percy said with a grin and a slightly mad look in his eye.

Cap meanwhile, had recovered from attack and moved to try and catch up to Percy and Kudamon. Of course, once he spotted them, and seeing Percy having his hand on the weapon as if blocking it, Cap wondered what was going on.

What he saw next, however was not what he expected.

Percy seemed to have whispered something, and the next thing anyone else seemed to know, was that Apemon’s bone was covered in runes before quivering and moving on its own to hit its master. Percy took the chance to get out of the way, and the pissed off Apemon then started sending more needles at the boy.

“Bullet Whirlwind!” Kudamon then cried, before leaping off of Percy’s neck and stopping the attack with its own. The digimon then landed on the ground, and started running around as Apemon used its other hand to try and smash and grab the quick little digimon.

“We are both Holy Beasts Apemon!” Kudamon cried, “But if your ring is missing, than you have either been corrupted or commited an evil act. As Percy’s protector, I will either Purify, or Punish you!”

“LIAR! LIAR! MERCURYMON SENT YOU!” Apemon cried, swinging his fist at Kudamon, only for it dodge.

“Percy, Cap, run! I’ll take care of him!” the bullet weasel cried, causing Percy to shake his head.

“No way partner.” the teen said, even as Cap started to drag him back, only for Percy to dig his black boots into the ground as he tried to slow the super soldier down. “You stay behind, then I’m sticking around to make sure you make it back alive!” With that said, Percy’s D-watch then acted up like it had back in Primary Village, and remembering what happened last time, decided to go on and activate Digivolution again. Like before, a beam hit Kudamon and surrounded him in light.

“Kudamon, digivolve to,” it said, and as the light grew larger and cleared away, in the little digimon’s place stood a faceless, fox-like digimon with a wicked looking blade for a tail that was decorated with red eyes, and blue flames were on either side of its head, while a very thick red and white rope was wrapped around its neck. The digimon also had black feet and tan fur with a yin-yang on its flank.

“Reppamon!”

Apemon glared at the digimon before swinging his rune covered bone, which was only blocked and the immediately cut in half by Reppamon’s tail. It was then that the mystical digimon seemed to spot something on Apemon’s head- a mirror to be exact, and in the eyes of Percy and Cap, simply gave the tail a shake before the golden monkey fell on his back and was knocked out cold. With the battle over, Percy then ran over to congratulate Reppamon, who then turned back into Kudamon in order to return to his partner’s neck just as a golden ring appeared on Apemon’s finger.

“Percy.” Cap then said as he decided to talk about the obvious elephant in the room, “I saw what you did to Apemon’s weapon.”

The blond punk flinched for a moment, before simply shrugging. “So I can use magic? That a problem?”

“It is when it’s Asgardian.” Captain America then pointed out, “I know Thor, remember? And I have seen similar runes before when going up against Loki. So then Percy, where did you learn how to do that?”

“Now why should it matter?” the teen then said as he smirked, “If I hadn’t used it, Kudamon and I’d be dead by now, wouldn’t we? I mean, I’m no super soldier like you.”

“It’s true that you’re not.” Cap said, “But you also seemed to be able to block the attack, and even I was thrown off balance when it hit my shield. You seem to be more durable than you let on, and even if you weren’t, I wouldn’t have let Apemon kill you or your partner.”

“Maybe I just got lucky.” Percy said with a shrug. Before Cap could say anything else though, a groan caught their attention and the three soon turned to see Apemon wake up, his eyes no longer looking blank white and wild, but now more sane looking and green.

“What happened?” he said, “I feel like I was hit by a Trailmon after waking up from a nightmare… last thing I remember was Mercurymon experimenting on me before I escaped.”

“Good news then,” Percy then said with a grin, “We’re on the same side since we hate that metal wanker too. Name’s Percy, and I’m one of the Legendary Digi-Knights. The big guy here is named Captain America… he and his buddies was dragged along with me and my fellow Knights to the digital world, and his mates got scattered about.”

“It is a pleasure to meet you both, Sir Percy and Captain America.” Apemon then said as he gave a bow, “I apologize if I ended up causing you trouble.”

“It’s alright, you clearly were acting bonkers when you attacked us. And oh look! You got your ring back too.” Percy then said as he pointed to Apemon’s finger, while Cap kept quiet. “Anyway… Cap and I need to head back to camp, you can come with us and meet the other Knights and Beezlemon, if you want.” Apemon then gulped and turned a bit pale at the mention of the resistance leader.

“Y-You’ have one of the Seven Great Demon Lords with you?! H-He’s your prisoner… r-right?”

“Nope.” Percy said, “He’s actually leading the Resistance against Plutomon after he took over the Digital World, and since Mercurymon just so happens to be working with the big bad…. well, we have a common enemy, don’t we?”

“We do…” Apemon said, looking relieved, “I… I must have been out of it longer than I thought, if Mastemon’s been overthrown and a Demon Lord of all things is trying to save our world.” With that said, the four then headed back to camp, Apemon looking rather surprised to see how different Beezlemon looked while wearing armor instead of the biker clothes he had worn when the wild digimon last saw an image of the resistance leader. As Percy helped introduce their new ally, Beezlemon congratulated Percy, before telling Apemon that the resistance could always use good digimon like him at their side.

“I appreciate the offer.” Apemon said with a grin after also being informed of the group’s current mission. “As for the Factory, I believe I can take you to a shortcut, I remember living in this jungle for years, even if I don’t remember what all I might have done within it, and so I believe I can guide you through my domain.”

“We’d certainly like that, Apemon.” Beezlemon then said, while Bruce came up and started treating their new friend’s injuries.

Sheena however, ran up to actually hug Percy when she saw him.“Oh man, when you and Cap snuck off, I wasn’t sure what was going on.” she said as she held the punk tight, “I’m glad you’re back, but if it had been a few more minutes, I would have gone out with Vukumon to look for you myself!”

“She was worried.” Vukumon then said, causing Percy to blush a little and hug her back as he gave a soft smile.

“Don’t worry your wonderful little head, leading lady.” Percy then said as he pulled away, “I’m tougher to take out than I look! ‘Sides, I do have a few tricks up my sleeve.”

“Even though Ryudamon knocked you and Esteban out in practice the other day?” Sheena said as a joke before nudging Percy with her elbow. Though Percy didn’t really feel it that much, he did chuckle and play it off as if he did, and gently nudged her back.

“I didn’t expect that dragon to well, create explosions like that, so I was caught off guard.” the boy then said, and the two teens laughed while Percy glanced at Esteban, and smirked as he noticed the glasses wearing Mutant fuming with jealousy. Especially when Percy decided to kiss Sheena on the cheek as well, causing the girl to blush.

“Glad you worried about me though.” he then said to her, while noting that Esteban was now surrounded by sparks of electricity after the act.

“S-Sure…” Sheena then said, a bit out of it as she placed her hand on her cheek while her face turned almost as pink as her hair.

Watching all this though, was Cap. The super soldier had been thinking about what the British troublemaker might have been trying to hide when it came to how Apemon had been handled, and also noted that the kid seemed to resemble Thor a bit in appearance, and also in handling praise. However, and more disturbingly, Percy also seemed to remind Cap of Loki in how he tried to keep quiet about his powers, and more importantly, on how he seemed to convince Apemon to join them quickly.

He could only hope he didn’t really have the God of Mischief in disguise with the group. This world had enough trouble on its hands without Loki causing even more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, in this chapter, Percy reveals his powers like Esteban did in the previous one. However, while Esteban showed his abilities to everyone in the party, Percy instead only showed off his own abilities when he was sure he was alone with Kudamon, with Captain America being an accidental witness. 
> 
> Percy also doesn't say anything about his abilities after Apemon's back to normal, or when he gets back to camp as he still wants to keep what he can do a secret, instead of Esteban who is fine with talking about his abilities once he's outed himself as a mutant. 
> 
> On the other hand, Percy's memory about before the group arrived in the digital world shows, in combination to what Sheena thought about Percy back at the start of Chapter 2, that while Percy is a smart ass and a prankster he does try and help while he can, while Esteban can be shown to be a jerk most of the time and even more of a loner than Percy. 
> 
> Not to mention that Percy's memory also mentions friends Sheena had that weren't brought with them to the digital world, and are still on Earth. And yes, Kite's a girl. Just roll with it. Unfortunately, Sheena's four friends won't really be mentioned much if at all in the fic itself for a good while, so for the moment, they're very, very minor characters that get mentioned in passing and don't really get an appearance in-story. Also a reference to an earlier idea I had for a digimon story long, long ago with Sheena, her four friends, and a three more kids getting a bunch of Original Digimon to fight the bad guy and save the world. 
> 
> Sadly, I never got to write it, and it probably would have sucked a good bit since I was like, 12 when I originally thought it up.
> 
> As for Percy kissing Sheena on the cheek? The kid does have a genuine crush on her, but the thought of getting Esteban riled up was also a bit too fun to pass up.
> 
> Anywho, next chapter introduces a familiar idea to those that watched the original series of digimon: The Crests.
> 
> If you have guesses about who gets what crests, leave them in the comments, ok?


	8. The Tunnel of Regrets

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Haunted tunnels with giant mirrors should be tread carefully.

“Here we are.” Apemon said, showing the kids, their digimon, Captain America and Beezlemon a rather abandoned and very unused tunnel. “Through here, you should be able to reach the Factory.”

“Why did they stop using it?” Bruce asked, causing Apemon to scratch the side of its head.

“Oh… I think it might be haunted.” the monkey then said, causing the group, except for Jean, Scott and Percy, to look uneasy.

“Will you be coming with us?” Beezlemon then asked.

“No,” answered Apemon, “I don’t want to see if that rumor’s true, you know? I think I’ll go back to the Resistance… er… which way is the base again?”

The former demon-lord simply sighed and pulled out a small device that was green with a white “G” on it and a small window that showed a tiny disk inside. “Here’s a Gatedisk. Click the button on the side, and you’ll be in the Eldradimon Ruins throne room.”

“Oh, thanks!” Apemon said, “See all of you later!” With a click of button and a flash of light, the monkey digimon was gone, and a certain punk decided to take the chance to snark.

“Anyone want to bet he ditched us because he’s really as yellow as his fur?”

~~000~~

  
A little later inside the tunnel, the party was able to see where they were going thanks to Tandy’s partner Candlemon lighting up the area. It was then that they noticed two things about the place. The first, was that it seemed to be lined with giant mirrors, and the second was that nine of them seemed to have some symbols over them. What really drew Sheena’s attention though, besides the fact that one of the symbols was already glowing- a star (she thought anyway) that shone a bright pink, was the fact that right next to it was a symbol she remembered seeing on Seraphimon’s armor: the one that looked either like a sun rising over a cliff, or a person wrapped up in a cloak.

“Don’t get distracted! We need to keep moving.” Cap then said, just as Bruce heard a grunt behind him. Noticing that FanBeemon was hurt, the boy quickly turned around to tend to his partner with the First-aid kit Valkyrimon had given him.

“This must have been from Dokugumon’s attack the other day.” Bruce said as he wrapped up the insect’s injured body, with his partner nodding, “I’m sorry I didn’t see it before! You’re not mad at me, are you?”

“No, no, I’m fine.” FanBeemon said, before noticing that another symbol in the tunnel started to glow, this one a lavender flower like one. Then, things started to get weirder as suddenly, shadowy arms reached out of the other mirrors. Bruce could only watch in shock as the phantom limbs grabbed everyone but Megan and Dorimon and pulled each of them into a separate mirror. While the kids were dragged into mirrors depicting the other odd symbols that hadn’t lit up though, the mirrors Cap and Beezlemon were pulled into soon developed effigies of the Super Soldier’s shield and the Resistance Leader’s face over them. Picking up his friend, the boy then went over to check on Megan, who immediately clung to Bruce out of fear.

That was when they heard laughter.

“Two Crests have begun to glow, seven more remain unlit. And yet, Nine Trials must be done!” it said rather cheerfully, “You two innocents who earned the crests of Light and Kindness, you may choose to go on to the end of the tunnel, or come to the pitstop ahead to wait on your comrades.”

“Why should we trust you after what you did!” cried FanBeemon, while Dorimon growled.

“Well… whoever it is hasn’t tried to hurt us, right?” Megan then said, “If it was really a bad guy, he’d have hurt us the moment we were alone.”

“The child of Light has a point little bee.” said the voice, “Plus, I have snacks! Human children like snacks, right?”

“Promise you won’t hurt us and that you really have snacks?” Megan said before letting go of Bruce and picking up her partner digimon.

“Promise.” said the voice.

“Ok!” the little girl then said before skipping ahead to a brightly lit corner of the tunnel where a table waited, covered in snacks, drinks, and a banner saying “Congratulations!” over it. Of course, hovering in mid air and still tying the banner in place, was a green robed digimon that was also rather transparent. As it turned its head, Megan as well as Bruce- who had chased after her as best as he could whlie carrying the bee that was half his size, managed to see that the digimon had a green wizard’s hat, a face hidden much like Wisemon’s (as well as the glowing yellow eyes), and funnily enough, a scale attached to the front of the hat. The strange digimon also had a giant mirror for a body, with his robe covering it like a curtain and even dragged along the floor of the tunnel as he lowered himself after he finished his task rather quickly. Finally, with a cheerful look in his eye and sending a purple feathered fan a little bit out of his right sleeve, he then greeted the two young digital Knights.

“Ah! Hello children!” said the digimon as it waved the fan. “And a pleasure to meet your partners as well. I, am Ancient Wisetmon, and I haunt the Tunnel of Regrets. Normally digimon don’t become ghost data… but well, there are exceptions apparently.”

“Why is this place called the Tunnel of Regrets?” Bruce asked a bit weakly as he poured some juice for FanBeemon before taking a moment to catch his breath and getting himself an apple as he sat down at the table. “Wouldn’t a different name be better?”

“Yeah!” Megan said, “Like, you mentioned Crests, right? Why not call it, ‘Crest Mirror Tunnel’ instead?”

“Because sadly, this is where I was partially deleted.” AncientWisetmon said, “I had once known that traitorous Mercurymon as a student, but I failed to recognize his darkness and when it was too late, I ran here with the nine crests of the Digi-Knights. I had managed to hide them within the Tunnel itself where Mercurymon would never find them, but he destroyed my old body as soon as he arrived. So, I must now haunt this place until either the crests are received by their rightful owners, or Mercurymon gets what he deserves. Whichever happens first really.”

“So, how did me and Bruce get our crests?” Megan said while feeding some jerky to Dorimon.

“You earned yours, Child of Light, simply by being a sweet and good little girl. As for the Child of Kindness, he earned his when he went to check on his partner’s injury only moments ago.” AncientWisetmon then said while ignoring the look of disbelief Dorimon had given him in regards to his partner’s crest, “Now, if you’d like, you two can watch me display the trials of your friends on my mirror body, as they still need to earn their crests while the other two will need to face something about themselves. It’ll be like a movie marathon, which should be fun for all I believe!”

“Yes Please!” the two children said, and so the ghostly digimon started to show them the first of the trials, this one prefaced by a red heart symbol before showing what seemed like a city at the end of a rainbow bridge.

~~000~~

Percy groaned as he got up off the ground, surprised to see his face reflected in a golden floor. Kudamon was around his neck, also shaking his head as the digimon grumbled and cursed. As the two looked around once they got a hold of themselves, they noticed they were in a hallway made of white stone that was lined in gold and also trophies from battle.

The place also happened to look like a tornado ran through it from how the stone was cracked, and the trophies were scattered and broken apart for some.

“Where are we Percy?” Kudamon then said.

“Asgard.” said the boy, “Or at least, a copy of it made by that mirror we were sucked into.”

“Some sort of test, perhaps?”

“Most likely, best see what’s up, then. The sooner we do, the sooner we get out of here.”

“Agreed.” Kudamon then said, and with that Percy walked down the hallway, keeping note of what looked like badly beaten guards on the ground. Soon enough though, Percy opened the doors to the Main Hall- where he suspected Odin to be located, only to find instead that a brawl had occurred and that the last man standing was sitting on the throne. This person had black hair and green eyes, and had on a golden, horned helm along with a magnificent green cape and finally a nice coat and clothes in black, green and gold accents.

“Loki.” Percy then said as he walked forward, “Or rather, a copy of the real one.”

“Ah, Percy.” the fake deity said while completely ignoring Percy’s comment about being a copy, “You’re just in time. I was about to head to Midgard to kill you and your family before starting Ragnarok like I am supposed to. You have certainly saved me some trouble by finding your way to Asgard and coming to me directly.”

“Why?” Percy then asked simply, not even blinking at the attempt on his life.

“P-Pardon?” Loki said, rather surprised by the nonchalance of the teenage boy in front of him.

“Why kill me mum- you’re own daughter might I mention, along with killing me, you know, your grandson?”

“W-Well, because I can’t stand Midgardians!” Loki said, “And besides, Ragnarok is rather important you know, ending eight of the nine realms, rebuilding them and continuing the never ending cycle until the end of the universe.”

“Yeah, right. You couldn’t do it even if you wanted to- kill us, I mean.” Percy then said, not even buying it. “Not to mention you told me that you cared for mum like you did for all your other children.”

“Hello, I don’t believe we have met. Loki, God of Lies.” said the annoyed deity.

“So? Even a liar can admit the truth once in a while, and I know you still wouldn’t harm your grandson, or one of your daughters.” Percy then said with a smirk.

“And what makes you say that?” Loki asked after raising an eyebrow.

“Simple, you not only taught me a couple of things to help protect myself, but I learned something more important.” Percy said, not even losing his confidence despite the illusion’s attempts to do otherwise, “That despite all the evil you do, you still care about your children and their families. You even showed you cared for the more monstrous ones you brought into the world, like the Midgard Serpent and Fenris. All because you didn’t want them to go mostly unloved like you did when you were a kid, with only your adopted mother Frigga teaching you magic to protect yourself. Not to mention that despite how your real dad was a completely abusive git to you, despite your constant failed attempts to earn All Father Odin’s approval while growing up in Thor’s Shadow, despite all the evil you caused, you still have enough decency in you to show love you couldn’t receive yourself. I’ll even admit that I love you, my grandfather, back, even if you do shape shift into a woman at times.”

The shadow flinched at Percy’s words, causing the boy to realize he was getting close to potentially breaking the fake. Loki however, then growled before stating, “I will still have to start Ragnarok, you know!”

“And why do that?” Percy then asked.

“Because it is my destiny! I always have to do it each and every time Asgard has to be reborn!”

“And all that, just to end the world and once more go through the cycle of being adopted by Odin, growing up in Thor’s Shadow, and being evil again, and again, and again.” Percy said to point out a hole in the fake Loki’s logic. He then sighed and swiped a finger over the blue streak in his white hair, before adding in a disappointed tone, “For the God of Evil, Lies, Mischief and Chaos, that really makes you something you hate more than Thor: being bloody predictable.”

“Where… where are you going with this?” the false Loki then asked a bit nervously.

“Where? Now that should have been easy for you to figure out, Gramps.” Percy said with a smirk, “What I’m saying is this: Why keep doing something that just makes you miserable, all because Destiny says so? Why not just end the cycle for good by just changing your role?”

“It’s not that simple.” Loki said quickly and also a bit sadly as well, “I will simply go back to evil eventually, it is my fate.”

“Sod Fate!” Percy then said, “Sure, change isn’t going to be easy after how long you’ve been at it, but it really never is for anyone, now is it?. But, I’ll be here to support you, Gramps, and so will mum. If, you know, actually try to change. I mean, what’s a lie but a story anyway? If you don’t like how the current story goes, why not just try and change the ending?”

The false Loki created by the Mirror then stepped down from the throne and walked towards the punk, his body shaking before he knelt down and began to weep. Percy simply said nothing as he hugged the image of his grandfather while the world around both him and Kudamon faded away.

Outside the mirror, the heart shaped crest began to glow brightly, and Percy was gently released from the mirror, having passed the trial. Looking at his D-Watch, he then noted that there was a new message.

Ultimate Level Discovered. Please Activate Crest of Love to unlock.

“Crest of Love, eh?” Percy said, before walking down the hallway, “Wonder what needs to be done to turn it on?”

Soon, the boy reached the refreshment table and got himself a piece of cake.

“Percy,” Megan then said, “Are you really Loki’s grandson like we saw in AncientWisemon’s mirror belly?”

Percy nearly choked as he heard the question, before looking at the two kids and frowned. “Don’t tell anyone. If you do and I find out, I will make sure you’re both punished for it, understand?”

“Y-Yes Sir!” Megan and Bruce then said, kind of scared of the punk and apparent quarter-deity.

“Now, now children.” the ghostly digimon then said, gaining their attention, “It’s time for the next trial.” It was then his mirror showed the symbol of the sunrise/cloaked person, and the three humans and their digimon watched the next trial.

~~000~~

Sheena Barnes and Vukumon found themselves in a labratory, the lavender falcon digimon looking uneasy at the actually evil looking equipment.

“Sheena, where are we?” the bird digimon asked.

“Not sure,” Sheena said, lowering her goggles over her eyes, “Might be Doctor Doom’s Lab in Latveria, AIM, HYDRA, or maybe even somewhere else in the digital world.”

“Wh-What?!” the falcon shrieked, only to be soon answered with laughter and a sadly familiar sounding voice.

“Well now… if it isn’t one of the Digital Knights and her frightened little Chicken Digimon.” it said, and soon the girl and her partner saw a black armored, shadowy version of Mercurymon.

“I’m not a chicken, Traffic Cone!” the bird screamed before flying to attack the metal monster, only to instead bounce off its mirror. The bird didn’t give up though, and even tried using its attacks, only for them to be bounced back instead. Eventually, the digimon fell to the ground, badly injured as Mercurymon prepared to attack.

However, Sheena got in the way and took the dark version of her partner’s Vuku Beam, and sent down to the floor. When she tried to get up soon afterward though, she felt Mercurymon pin her to the ground with his boot while Vukumon was able to get out of the way.

“Why do you resist?” the mirrored monster said as he tried to crush the girl under his armored boot, “Can’t you see this fight is hopeless?”

“Because I can be pretty stubborn when it comes to keeping my hope going…” Sheena grunted as she took the attack, “You’re nothing but a metal bully, ruling by fear and crushing those you despise because they have Hope! In fact, the thing about what you’ve been draining away from digimon and Tony Stark, is that it can never truly leave, because hope is not just waiting for a miracle to happen, it’s having the resolve to make your own miracles, when no one else can! That is what my dad taught me, and I’ll keep an eternal spark of hope that will never go out… NO MATTER WHAT YOU DO!”

At that moment, Sheena’s D-watch reacted, glowing brightly and causing the enemy digimon to back away and let Sheena get a chance to stand back up.

“What is this?!” Mercurymon cried, as Sheena activated her D-Watch.

“Just the light of Hope, you steel son of a bitch!” Sheena said with a grin, just as a sphere of light surrounded Vukumon.

“Vukumon digivolve to,” the falcon shouted, and the ball of light grew in size. Once it disappeared, a new digimon was standing behind Sheena, this one being about seven feet tall with a white, humanoid and muscular glowing body, a red spiked mask/helmet combo with a pointed nose, red boxing gloves on her fists that had lavender feathers stick out from the wrist-guards and blue eyes looking out from the helmet. Around the digimon’s waist was a red sash with more lavender feathers hanging down from it like a skirt, while under the eye holes of the spiked helmet were white lines below the eyes forming an odd symbol Sheena didn’t recognize.

“KUKUMON!” the new digimon then said once the change was complete, and pounded her fists together, and popped the bones in her neck as she glared at the shadow of Mercurymon. “Time to teach you a lesson about hurting my partner, Traffic Cone.”

“Oh dear.” Mercurymon said, backing away as the boxing digimon charged in and pulled back an arm.

“Kuku Punch!” she cried, her arm becoming empowered with a yellow aura that actually made the fist seem a lot bigger as it headed straight towards Shadow Mercurymon’s face.

“OH DEAR!” it cried, before a loud crack echoed in the area, followed by the sound of shattered glass. The evil digimon then fell backward, its face destroyed and the area around Sheena and Kukumon fading away.

“Looks like we won, partner!” she said before giving a thumbs up after she and Kukumon left the mirror. As her partner turned back to Vukumon- who was now fully healed along with the goggle wearing girl, the two headed down the tunnel, hoping the others were alright as her new crest glowed brightly with a golden light.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, for those reading and guessed that Megan, Bruce, Sheena and Percy would get the crests of Light, Kindness, Hope and Love respectively, then congrats! You were right.
> 
> Now, as you can see, this chapter is where we get to see Percy's relationship with Loki, and this will also kick off a sub-plot over in the Journals for Loki becoming well, not evil. As well as getting a little discussion on Fate vs. Choices in terms of how Destiny can occur. As for why this fic's Loki is dressed like the one from the Avengers movie? Let's face it folks, I liked how that version looked, and I'm a sucker for long coats. As for the Loki thing? Well, originally, Percy wasn't going to be related to Loki, and the Janitor was just some poor sap meant to act as a red herring. Hell, Loki wasn't even going to be involved at all until people started blaming him. Then, I did a bit of digging on Loki, learned about Tess Black, and well... things went from there and the plan changed back at around chapter 3. Honestly, I like the change.
> 
> So, if you're wondering why Percy's Trial of Love doesn't involve Sheena, the answer is simple: there are many types of love outside of Romantic people, and despite the large number of slashfics out there, I decided to go with familial love and how it can be expressed by showing support for a relative, and helping them when they need it- in this case, Percy not just talking his grandpa's copy out of causing Ragnarok for the umpteenth time, but also convincing him to take another route to end the cycle instead of just giving up. Sure, there were a couple of smart ass comments from Percy, but sometimes to get a Trickster to listen, you got to rile them up, right?
> 
> Now, Sheena getting the Crest of Hope was... probably obvious in hindsight due to how often it gets reference when it comes to her so far, and also Seraphimon showing interest in her and Vukumon. As for the bit where she mentions having to make your own miracles? Well, having too much hope can mean expecting miracles to happen when things get rough, but Sheena herself believes that sometimes you need to get your hands dirty in order to make something work.
> 
> As for the snack table... uh... well, the kids gotta eat something while waiting on people to finish their trials, right? Also, AncientWisetmon may or may not have been rushing to get things ready the moment he sensed people in his haunt, so that's why he was still hanging up the banner when Megan and Bruce showed up. Also, because I felt a bit of comedy was needed here, ya know? This chapter also shows that Bruce is definitely not the most active little nine year old for reasons.
> 
> Finally, Kukumon was originally called Kwukumon, and waaaaaay back when I first created Vukumon as a kid, Kwukumon looked incredibly different than what shows up in the fic itself. Specifically, it looked like a fusion between Togemon's body, tokomon's teeth, and greymon's helmet mask thing. Then, years later I had a dream where I saw Kukumon as she appears in the fic- minus the feathers, and went with that design when I was 12. However, Kukumon didn't get that name until I started writing the fic, since well, Kwukumon sounds like a pain to say and Kukumon sounds better anyway.
> 
> Anywho, next time, we get to see who gets the Crests of Courage, Friendship, and Sincerity... or Reliability if you're more familiar with the dub of Adventure.


	9. The Trials Continue, KnightChessmon and Porcupamon's Power!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Three more trials are seen. Scott faces an old fear, Jean faces a shadow of herself, and Tina faces what may be the hardest one of all...

“I’m glad that four of you have managed to gain your crests.” AncientWisetmon said.

“Um…. Bruce gained his after tending to FanBeemon, and Percy and Sheena earned theirs after passing their trials but,” Megan said looking a bit worried, “I really don’t feel I earned mine… I haven’t even had a fight where Dorimon digivolved yet either…”

“Well, you and Bruce were quite innocent and didn’t have a need to face your darkness like the others, and I’m quite sure your partner will digivolve sooner or later.” the ghost then said attempting to reassure the girl when he noticed how Megan seemed a bit uncertain about what he said. “Besides, if you had taken the trial, I worry you might have fallen into darkness instead of earning your crest.”

“Probably ran out of ideas for trials anyway.” Percy then said, causing Sheena to chuckle. The data-ghost however, simply glared and started to grumble.

“Okay, back to the trials.” the mirror then said, before displaying an orange sun on his body before the next trial.

~~000~~

As Scott Winters faced down what he and White PawnChessmon found in the mirror, it was quite odd to see the red headed teen glare at what looked like a simple and nice looking old man.

“Oh great. Him.” Scott then growled, causing his partner to speak up.

“Uh… who is that guy anyway?” the white soldier asked, while the old man spotted them.

“Trouble.” Scott then said, glaring at the stranger as he walked up and spoke to the boy.

“Hello there Scott,” he said, “Tell me, where is your sister?”

“No where you can get to her you bastard!” Scott said before punching the guy, only for the man to stop the boy’s fist and give a somewhat unsettling grin.

“Oh? Now why do you say that?” he then said, before squeezing Scott’s fist. “If you don’t tell me, then I may have to do some terrible things to a naughty boy like you.”

“Because if it weren’t for you stalking Jean when she and I were 8, we wouldn’t have had to live in fear of whatever you had planned.” Scott said rather darkly instead of his usual cheerful attitude, and for a moment it seemed that the teen’s eyes flashed to pure white before going back to normal, “You tried getting into our house, you tried claim you were a doctor or drive her home from school just so you could attempt to get her alone. Jean and I had to live for a full year with police guarding us at all times when dad managed to prove to them what you were doing, especially after you killed someone during one of your last attempts. And I used to be afraid of you whenever you called and threatened to kill me when I tried to protect my sister from a bastard like you back in Utah.”

As Scott finished speaking, his body actually seeming to give off an aura of heat and orange light as he gritted his teeth against the pain. The old man cringed and let go of Scott’s fist, stepping back as he glared at the teenager.

“I can still kill you.” He said, as his body shifted into something much more demonic, “Now, tell me where Jean is like a good boy, and I’ll let you live.”

“LIKE HELL I WILL!” Scott screamed while his voice sounded a little distorted and his green eyes took on a faint white glow, “I don’t care if I die, you are not touching my sister you sick son of a bitch!”

Scott then charged ahead, his eyes burning with either great courage or pure stupidity as he aimed to beat the snot out of the apparent child molester. Even when the monster grabbed Scott and tried to squeeze him to death, the orange aura’d boy kept fighting until his D-Watch started acting up.

“You used to scare me before my family and I moved,” he said as he activated the device, “BUT NOT ANYMORE!”

A beam of orange light then shot from the watch to Scott’s partner, and for a moment, the enveloped digimon seemed to have taken the shape of a priest before turning into a ball of white light.

“White PawnChessmon digivolve to,” the digimon said like so many times before with the other digimon, it was hit by a beam of light that grew as his body changed and disappeared. Scott’s partner now looked like a centuar styled, white armored robot with a very large and very dangerous looking dart. “White KnightChessmon!”

With Scott wailing away on the demonic old man with his fists while his partner swiftly stabbed it repeatedly with his giant dart, it wasn’t long before the monster was defeated, and laid on the ground a bloody mess.

As the area began to fade, Scott jumped for joy.

“YEAH!” he said, before he was spat out of the mirror with his partner. Of course, instead of going straight to the refreshment table, the red headed boy then sat down, intending to wait on his sister and Tina to come out as well.

This however, lasted only a couple of minutes as Percy walked up and looked down at the red head.

“So, now that you’ve committed a righteous bit of murder on a creeper, you coming to get some food or not?” the British punk asked, causing Scott to shake his head.

“Nah, I’m just going to wait a bit… wait. How did you know what I did?” the red headed idiot then said, while Percy rolled his eyes and grabbed both him, and his partner and started dragging them down the tunnel.

“H-Hey! Let go of me will ya?” Scott then said as he struggled, only to be unable to get loose, “Dang, your stronger than you look.”

“Oh lord, give me strength…” White PawnChessmon sighed as he facepalmed as well.

Percy simply ignored Scott’s protests as he returned to the others, and looked at AncientWisetmon.

“Got him.” the ash blond boy with the blue streak in his hair said as he unceremoniously dropped WhitePawnChessmon and then using both hands on Scott’s body, decided to plop him down in a chair. “Now, let’s see who’s next.”

The ghost, unsure what to say about what he had just seen- along with everyone else, said nothing as he displayed the next crest, a dark blue one depicting either a stylized pair of hands shaking, or a yin-yang. One of the two.

~~000~~

Jean Winters ran a hand through her long red hair and then shifted it to cover her right eye and the scar that ran through it, before she simply stared at what looked like her twin brother and her friend Tina on the ground and badly hurt. Most likely because they pushed Sheena too hard again. Smoothing out her green dress, the girl’s exposed green eye looking around the otherwise dark room for anything besides her and her partner that might have been lurking around.

Of course, seeing a shadowy, red eyed version of herself suddenly appear in front of the girl when she looked back at her friends didn’t even seem to phase her, despite scaring her digimon partner enough to make him scream.

“Out of my way, I’m going to check on my brother and my friend.” Jean then said calmly.

“Oh brother…” said her shadow before laughing, “We both know Scott’s crush Tina is only your ‘Friend’ because you thought it was smarter to follow that spoiled bitch’s orders as a minion rather than become a target.”

“Things change.” the real Jean then said, and started to move past her shadow. Instead, the more emotive fake grabbed the real article’s arm to try and taunt her some more.

“Yeah right.” said “Just because Tina shares some sob-story with you about how—”

A loud slap sounded through the room, causing the shadow to flinch and let her captive go.

“Not. Your place. To talk.” Jean said, actually glaring as she continued, “Now, get out of my way.”

This seemed to set off Shadow Jean, as she soon turned into a monster that resembled a large bird. However, the real Jean once more failed to show any fear as she activated her D-Watch and turned her partner into a black robotic centuar with a giant dart resting on its shoulder.

“Black KnightChessmon.” Jean then said after the digivolution sequence went by, “Eliminate.”

“As you wish Lady Jean.” said her digimon partner, “Gallop Whole!”

What followed was Black KnightChessmon gallpoing forward before leaping high into the air, landing on and pinning the monster Jean to the ground. This then led to the monster screaming as the digimon started trampling on the bird monster until it could no longer move. With that done, the two were then released as the Crest of Friendship glowed above the mirror, and the red headed girl and her reverted partner headed further into the tunnel where she met with the others.

“Hey.” Jean then said as she waved before being glomped by her brother.

“JEAN!” Scott shouted, “Oh man, you were awesome as always, sis! Glad you’re okay too!”

“Thanks.” Jean then said as she gently moved out of her brother’s grip before sitting down and getting herself some chips to munch on like it was nothing.

“Oi, Scott…” Percy then whispered to the eerily calm girl’s twin, “When was the last time your sister showed, well, emotion?”

“When Sheena kicked our butts last week.” Scott admitted as he acted like his sister’s behavior was just plain normal.

It was then that AncientWisetmon showed the next crest, this one a pale blue cross with a triangle at each inner corner.

~~000~~

Tina and her partner, Phascomon kept close as they walked through the darkness, unsure where they were even going, or where they were. As the girl wasn’t even sure how long they’ve been in this place, she decided to pass the time by talking to the demonic Koala.

“Phascomon,” she said causing the sleepy looking digimon to look at her, “You told me that you remembered having a screwed up family, right? What do you remember about them?”

“Not much Sweetheart,” her digimon then said as it flew next to her, “I kind of remember a bearded digimon beating the hell out of me and my siblings as it told us to do stuff, but that’s really it, well, besides dying.”

“That’s… pretty bad.” Tina said, gently patting the digimon’s head, “Anything else?”

“I think I saw Beezlemon.” Phascomon then said as it crossed its arms, “But, he looked pretty different, more like a biker with a tail than the armored mug we know.”

Tina wasn’t sure what to say next, and just kept silent as the two continued on, before seeing a section of a park containing a swing set and a sandbox up ahead. Seeing as that it seemed to stick out rather blatantly in the dark void, the two then rushed ahead, Tina’s eyes adjusting to the light as she looked around. Soon enough though, the teenage girl then saw a younger one sitting alone on the swingset. This girl had black hair like Tina, and amber eyes. She looked about five years old as well as she wore a little white jumper dress with little gold wings embroidered on the back over a bright blue shirt, and a dark blue ribbon in her hair.

What really stuck out to Tina though, was the fact the little girl was crying.

“H-hey,” said the teenage girl then, moving closer and getting down to look at the child at eye level. “What’s wrong?” 

“Mommy and daddy did something very bad.” the little girl said, “They won’t let me sleep when I need to, or let my brother have a chance to move on when he really needs to after I got hurt really bad.”

Tina looked a little ill as she heard the little girl’s words, and asked a question even if she felt she already knew the answer she’d get. “Wh-What’s your name, little girl?”

“The same as yours.”

Tina started shaking as she moved back, before her eyes teared up and she looked away. “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry…” 

Phascomon however, looked at his partner in confusion. “Tina? Why are you apologizing?”

“Because Phascomon,” Tina then said, “That little girl is named Tina Martel Starling, like I am… and because of what my parents did, I’m nothing more than a replacement for the real daughter they lost. They wanted to pretend their daughter never died… and tried to hide the truth from me.”

Tina then started crying as she looked at her older sister’s ghost, and continued. “I’m sorry Sister, I’m sorry the ‘real’ Tina has to watch over a poor copy like me, all because our parents wished you never died thanks to that mutant! Ever since I found out, I’ve been angry at you as well, because if you hadn’t died, then I’d have my own name and identity! But, no, mom and dad made sure that I ‘inherited’ yours, and here I am, a worthless copy of you that can never really replace you no matter what mom and dad might believe! I want my own name, my own identity… but… I’m stuck as a copy. Just a copy.”

As the rich girl cried, Phascomon placed a claw on his partner’s shoulder, causing the broken girl to look up in surprise.

“You forgot something Sweetheart,” he said giving a smile, “Even if you were born to be a copy, you’re the real deal to me. Things’ll be alright in the end, won’t it?”

Tina smiled and hugged her partner then, sniffling as she let her tears run down her face into the digimon’s fur.

“You’ll… you’ll be there for me whenever I need you, right Phascomon?” she asked, while her digimon nuzzled her.

“For as long as I live Sweetheart.” the koala then promised, just as he moved back and sensed something approach from the darkness. Soon, the two girls and the koala spotted someone approach, and the teenaged Tina paled as she remembered the article her brother showed her.

The stranger was a tall, beastly looking man with reddish-blond hair, solid black eyes and a long, bony blade sticking out of his arm and dragging along the ground as he moved closer to the girls. Once the murderous mutant reached them though, he raised his arm intending to re-enact the death he caused years ago.

At least, he would have if Phascomon didn’t intercept the blow.

As the little koala struggled to keep the blade away from his partner, Tina looked down to see her D-Watch react. Acting quickly, she then sent the beam at her digimon, and watched him change into a large digimon in a cloth and black rubber suit that was haphazardly sewn together with red string while black thread was used on the eyes to make them look like a pair of Xs. Blades and needles were sticking out in some places, making horns on his head and claws on his feet, while two tubes formed ears on the head as well, while a third went from its mouth and to a red heart on its chest. It called himself “Porcupamon,” and as Tina watched, the digimon managed to push the mutant away.

“Slash and Rip!” it then shouted, before going on to maim and tear apart the monster, while Tina covered her sister’s eye as she closed her own. Once the screams stopped however, she opened them and saw Phascomon yawning as it sat in a pile of blood and organs. Despite the obvious horror in front of them, the younger girl then giggled, causing her sister to turn and look at her as she saw the girl’s expression.

“What are you smiling about?” Tina asked.

“That despite what mommy and daddy did, you still managed to get a pretty good friend to count on!” Little Tina said, while her sister looked at her partner and smiled.

“Yeah, you’re right.” the current Tina then said before looking at her sister’s spirit, “And when I get home, I am so having a little chat with our parents.”

“You better! Tell mommy and daddy how bad they made a booboo, too!”

~~000~~

As the Crest of Sincerity glowed, Tina and Phascomon (now clean of blood, as if it never even existed), smiled at each other before heading down the tunnel. Of course, as the raven haired girl saw the others and the refreshment table, she was rather surprised to see how solemn they looked and, especially when Sheena stood up and walked over to her.

“Hey Tina…” Sheena said as she had trouble making eye contact, “Listen, AncientWisetmon showed us what you were going through while in the mirror and well… I’m sorry your parents suck enough to just, do that to you.”

The girl first glared at the data-spirit before looking back at the pink haired girl.

“As I had hoped that was meant to be private,” Tina then said, “All I can say is that you have nothing to apologize about Sheena.”

“Well, if you were open about that in the first place,” Sheena then said, “Maybe we could have been friends instead of well, enemies. ‘Sides, I lost my mom, so I know what it’s like to lose family too, you know?”

“Not the same thing.” Tina then said bluntly before giving an awkward looking smile as she continued, “But, you might be right about being friends, but you’re still a freaky pink-haired tech-geek though.”

Sheena simply sighed before forcing a smile and telling the other girl, “And you’re still kind of a spoiled brat.”

The two girls then glared at each other, and instead of fighting like everyone- especially Scott and Jean, had expected, the two girls simply laughed before sitting down and getting something to eat.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, three more crests have been revealed, with only two more left. Now, onto my notes on why these three got their crests.
> 
> Scott and the Crest of Courage: Well, to be honest, I originally wasn't sure what I was going to do for Scott's trial, but after doing a bit of net surfing, I managed to get the idea that Scott and Jean- especially Jean, were stalked as kids and as a result, they ended up losing friends back in their home town, and Scott became afraid of one old man. Since Scott is in my head a pretty brave guy, it made sense he'd get the crest of courage. However, he does channel Marcus "Puncher of God" Damon with the glow thing, which will also act as a hint to something BIG getting revealed about him in the third arc, as does White PawnChessmon's brief "glitch" before evolving. I won't say what happened, but you guys can go on and guess in the comment section. 
> 
> Jean and the Crest of Friendship: Okay, Okay, probably not the best idea since Jean's well... the quiet, stoic person who doesn't emote much and may just be borderline creepy. But, considering her and her brother's backstory, her attitude does make sense. Also, the Shadow Jean becoming a bird monster? Go on and make Dark Phoenix jokes, I don't mind a bit. Or even a Persona Joke if you need to. Also? Come Arc three, Jean's gonna have a trip to the Dark Ocean, and actually show how scary she can really be, and it's not for the reason you may think...
> 
> Tina and the Crest of Sincerity: So, here is the point where Tina's actually going to start developing into a nicer person rather than be a bitch. Also, we see what her problem is: feeling she's just a fake because her parents decided to use Tina as a replacement goldfish for their late daughter, and hid as much evidence of the truth from her until Tina's brother decided to tell the truth to her in private. Because of this Identity Crisis, Tina took her frustration about her unwillingness to confront her parents about it on Sheena, and well, you can see how that went. But, yeah, in the end, Tina enjoys her partner calling her Sweetheart because to her, it's as close as she'll get to having her own identity for now.
> 
> Next Chapter... will be one where I'll most likely get some insults flung my way. You'll see why once the chapter's up.


	10. The Trials of Knowledge and Purity... and One More.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Esteban, Tandy and Cap are the next to face their trials. 
> 
> Warning: This chapter makes reference to Race and PC culture. The Author does not intend to offend readers who are sensitive to these subjects, and asks that you be as civil as possible when making a comment. Being an asshat while commenting on this chapter will be responded to with snark, and any attempts to shame, bully or pressure the author into deleting the section dealing with Race will not be tolerated as it will end up messing with continuity after I've already written up to 69 chapters total on tumblr. 
> 
> Thank you, enjoy the chapter, and have a nice day.

“So,” said Tina as she crossed her arms, “What were your trials?”

“Bruce and I didn’t get to do one since we were too young.” Megan said, while Bruce kept quiet and drank some juice with his partner.

“My partner digivolved and punched a copy of Mercurymon in the face.” Sheena said while Vukumon looked quite proud.

“White PawnChessmon and I dealt with a past problem of mine and Jean’s.” Scott said, while Tina simply nodded in acceptance.

“Eliminated my shadow.” Jean said simply, which was apparently enough for the raven-haired girl.

“Family drama.” Percy then said, and unlike Jean, Tina couldn’t help but poke the proverbial beehive.

“What do you mean by that?” the girl then said as she crossed her arms.

“Nothing you need to poke your nose into, Miss Copycat.” Percy then said, and before Tina could do anything, AncientWisetmon spoke up.

“Okay children, time for the next trial.” the mirror said, showing a purple symbol that looked like two gears connected by a single line. Or at least, that’s what it sort of looked like to the kids anyway since it was either that, or a pair of glasses with mismatched lenses.

~~000~~

Esteban blinked as he saw a copy of Sheena looking quite annoyed that whatever she did with the device she had in front of her, it didn’t seem to work.

“You’ve got to be joking…” he said as he picked up the machine, looked to see that it had no power, and rolled his eyes as he used his mutant powers to turn it on. As the device played a little victory noise and shot a few bits of confetti, ‘Sheena’ got up and hugged the boy, while his partner simply watched while the trial ended as soon as it began. Of course, since it seemed the trial was expected to last longer, it took a few minutes before the room began to fade, so Esteban decided to say something while he waited.

“You know, you can let go of me now.” he said out of slight annoyance, “You may look like the girl I have a crush on, but you’re kind of too dumb to be the real Sheena… it’s pretty insulting.”

“Indeed.” Ryudamon then said with a nod, “It’s actually pretty anti-climactic.”

After that, he was then released from the mirror alongside his partner and the two walked ahead, only to see the rest of the group so far looking at him while the real Sheena was looking away and blushing enough that her face looked about the same color as her hair. Esteban realized then that he had most likely been watched and heard and blushed as well before noticing that Percy was giving the glasses wearing teen the mother of all death glares. In fact, he swore that Percy’s eyes looked red as blood for a moment.

“Is it getting chilly in here to anyone?” Scott then said before shivering a bit.

“Nope.” Jean said before AncientWisetmon simply sighed and began the next trial. This time showing what looked like a teardrop that gave off a green light.

~~000~~

Tandy walked ahead through the dark corridor she found herself in, her partner Candlemon hopping beside her and providing some light. Of course, she soon came across the beginning of the trial as she met two girls that wore the same black and green, striped top, black and white gloves and boots, and white shorts she had on. However, one girl was white with blond hair and blue eyes and wearing Tandy’s crescent moon pendent, while the other was more noticeably African-american then the brown skinned Tandy Johnson, and wore an amulet made of grayish green nephrite that resembled a frog.

“Uh… what’s going on?” Tandy asked, while the two girls simply glared at her.

“This is the trial of Purity.” Said the blond, “We represent the two sides of your parents and their families. You must decide which of us is the more pu-”

“No.” Tandy said bluntly as she crossed her arms and continued. “I know what you’re trying to do, try and make me have some stupid crisis or whatever, and you know what? No. Just no.”

“Excuse me?” said the blond. “This is your trial. If you don’t make a choice between us, you can’t leave.”

“Bull. Shit.” Tandy said, causing her digimon partner to look at her in surprise before scooting away slowly as the girl ranted along. “What the hell does race have to do with purity? Purity, as I understand it, is not defined by that sort of thing, but instead defined by actions, heart, and innocence. You want me to make a choice between you two? Fine, I’ll make one. I choose _neither_ of you. Believe it or not, I am actually fine with being half and half. But you know what? I am sick and tired of people on both sides of my family say ‘How brave’ my parents are for just being together, or mom and dad being questioned about their choices instead of going with someone from their own race. Oh, and let’s not forget dad having to watch himself most of the time to avoid getting victimized by a bunch of assholes who can’t get leave behind the idea that race matters. Guess what? it shouldn’t have to matter because people are people, no matter where they come from. Hell, my dad’s not even from Africa despite being black! He’s from Brazil! I just want some damn normalcy in my life, just like mom and dad. But you know what? I can’t have that anymore because I get sucked into this crazy other world with a freaking candle as a partner. A candle. I’m not going to do this stupid test, I’m not going to choose between my parents as ‘which is more pure’ because that sort of thing is total bullshit.”

“So, what will you do?” said the other girl in the room that had remained silent while the blond explained the test. “Why shouldn’t racial purity matter as much as morality and other things associated with what people view as Pure?”

“Because that sort of thinking has caused so many problems in history that the main thing I think of when you ask that question, is that it caused _Adolf fucking Hitler_ to cause a war and a huge manhunt for one specific group of people while trying to create some stupid master race to demonstrate it’s fake purity.” Tandy argued, before flipping both girls off. “So in short, Fuck your damn test and goodbye, _cadelas._ ”

Tandy Johnson then turned around and started walking away, while the two girls just stood in silence for a few moments. Of course, unhappy that the Brazilian girl refused to play along and ranted to them, and also because the two girls weren’t even real, they then fused into a giant monster and tried to attack Tandy.

The girl however, jumped out of the way as her D-watch acted up, and decided to digivolve her partner. In seconds, the candle had changed to look like a gray man a little shorter than her in a blue, tattered, pointed hat with a skull on it and a matching blue cape. It also had on a red and yellow jumpsuit on that had a pair of red eyes on one leg and an open zipper on the other that exposed the shape of his leg. Blond hair poked out from under the hat, while his gray face was mostly hidden as his green eyes glared at the monster. He had on brown gloves and boots decorated by a crescent moon, and in his hand, he held a staff topped with a sun ornament that seemed to have a piece missing.

“Wizardmon.” the digimon then said as it’s digivolution ended, while Tandy knew exactly what to say next.

“Wizardmon,” she said, “Kick that thing’s ass.”

“Electro Squall!” Wizardmon said, raising his staff to create a dark cloud that then sent down a very intense bolt of lightning and practically destroyed the monster in one shot.

Then, the room faded away and the trial ended, with Tandy and her partner being released from the mirror as the Crest of Purity glowed overhead. Happy that she was out of there, the girl then skipped on ahead to meet with her fellow Digi-Knights, a smile on her face.

“Hi guys!” she said, while the other kids seemed pretty nervous, and Bruce and Megan seemed pale as a ghost after hearing the things she said to the phantoms of her trial.

“Remind me not to piss her off.” Percy simply said as quietly as possible, before AncientWisetmon quickly started showing something else prefaced with Captain America’s Shield.

~~000~~

Steve Rogers was uneasy after being pulled into the mirror. He was alone, and the kids were nowhere in sight. As he looked around though, he noticed that it looked like an old camp he had been in a long time ago, during the war.

The fact it looked like a ghost town didn’t help matters as he walked along. No one was in sight, no soldiers, no guns, nothing but tents. Eventually however, he came across a familiar stage that looked ready to give a show. However, it too was empty.

“What is going on here?” the super soldier then asked, Shield at the ready as he moved to get on stage.

“Well, what do you think it is, Steve?” he then heard someone say, and a chill went down his spine as he realized it was a voice he hadn’t heard in a long time. Looking around, he failed to see the source, only to freeze as he looked towards the stage again.

Standing center stage was a young man with brown hair, wearing a blue uniform with red gloves and tights, a pair of blue boots, and also a black domino mask. Captain America felt all sorts of emotions fill him, and tried his best not to cry as he clearly recognized the man on stage.

“Bucky…” he said sadly, looking away from his former partner. “No, this… this isn’t real.”

“Well of course it’s not real since this place is inside your mind.” Bucky said before frowning a bit in confusion, “Aren’t you happy to see me as I was? It can be like the old days again! Fighting bad guys, protecting America and the world from the likes of old Adolf and Hydra, you know, good ol’ fashioned heroism for a Golden Age!”

As he saw the obvious phantom smile, Cap stepped on stage and moved towards him, the super soldier’s face looking like it was on the verge of tears.

“Oh…” Bucky then said as if he realized something, “That’s right, I can’t ‘exist’ anymore can I? Not since I became that Winter Soldier… then again, he doesn’t even remember me, or you, or all the good we did thanks to the Invaders. You remember them right Cap? Namor, Toro and the Torch?”

“How could I forget them?” Cap then said with a pained smile, “They were our friends back then, and they helped us when we needed it. That is, until you and I went to stop Zemo after he captured us, and I ended up frozen while you ended up becoming the Winter Soldier… I… I thought you died before I saw you again.”

“But then, you’ve forgiven yourself for not knowing I was still alive, right?” Bucky then asked and getting a nod from the super soldier to confirm it. Crossing his arms, he then hummed a bit before continuing, “So what could it be that you have to deal with while we’re here?”

“I… I don’t know.” Cap said, looking away still. The phantom of how Bucky used to be then took a moment to think, before walking up to the captain and grabbing his hand. When the avenger looked at his old partner though, the smile Bucky held on his face seemed to hurt more than any injury he’d gotten since he had awoken in modern times.

“I think I do.” Bucky then said, “You still can’t get over the fact I sacrificed myself to stop Baron Zemo’s plan in the first place, can you?”

Cap couldn’t answer, his expression however, gave himself away as it clearly said that he did.

“Cap.” Bucky then said gently as he stepped away, “It was my choice. I’m sure if our positions were swapped around, you’d have done the same, right?”

“Y-yes…” Cap said, choking a bit as he tried not to cry. It was then that Bucky turned towards the center of the stage, where a facsimile of Sheena stood.

“Despite the pink hair, she looks pretty similar to me back when I was a kid, doesn’t she?” Bucky then asked, as Cap himself looked at his old partner in confusion, causing the phantom to flinch before groaning. “You don’t see it? Seriously? I mean, her last name is the same as mine! Barnes. C’mon, you can’t look at her and then tell me you don’t see it, right? This could be fate, the universe or something else giving you a second chance. You know, try and make things right by making sure she doesn’t end up like I did? All brainwashed, cybernetic and pissed off all the time? We’re friends Steve. Sure, you got frozen, thought I was dead for a pretty good reason, and I ended up forgetting everything when we did meet again, but there’s still hope you know.”

“Still hope?!” Cap then said, “How, how can there still be any hope after all this? This isn’t real, you’re… you’re not Bucky anymore.”

“Still not getting it, are you?” Bucky then said with a groan. “This is a trial where you face regrets and learn something new. I’m your regrets, yeah, but that something new is the fact Sheena Barnes is a freaking Light House of Hope, and she may be able to help you out. Hell, for all you know, she and I could turn out to be related through my little sister.”

“Bucky, I feel like I’d be replacing you with her if I showed her any favoritism among the other kids and let her put herself in danger. She’s still just a kid.” Cap then said, while Bucky just groaned and ran his hand over his face in annoyance.

“She won’t be replacing me.” he then said, “Sheena is probably going to end up as a legacy for me while she’s around you, if she doesn’t decide to go her own way in life while being inspired by you.”

“And what about the you back on Earth?” Cap said, “You didn’t even recognize me when I saw you again and you didn’t even know who you used to be! What if you never get your memory back at all?”

“Listen,” Bucky then said reassuringly, before putting a hand on his friend’s shoulder, “I will get my memories back over in the real world. It could take a few days, it could take a few years, but you just gotta keep hoping for me Steve. I might not go back to being your partner Bucky when I do, but I’ll always be your friend. I had your back in the past, but now? You have the Avengers, and you also have to rely on those kids while you look for the others… if you’ll let them help.”

“But, Bucky-” Cap began while his old friend just smiled at him.

“But nothing Cap, You-” he said, only to stop and look a bit worried as his body began to flicker. “Uh oh, Looks like I’m out of time for now. Just, be happy I stepped in and hijacked the real trial Steve. You would not have liked what you were supposed to face, trust me! And I’ll see you again, promise!”

With that, Bucky, the copy of Sheena, and the camp soon faded around Steve Rogers, the super soldier and hero confused by his friend’s last words. Once he was back in the tunnel though, he saw the symbols over the other mirrors glowing, and also heard voices ahead of him in the tunnel. Walking ahead, he spotted the kids and the data ghost, and also realized that Sheena Barnes was staring at him with a mix of relief and confusion.

“I’m glad you’re alright, Cap” she said to him, “AncientWisetmon here showed us what you went through but well, I’m just wondering if you thought if I was anything like Bucky?”

“Not even once.” Cap said, causing the girl to actually look relieved, “Bucky was my best friend, and he will be again, some day. Maybe after all this, and if he gets his memory back, I’ll introduce you to him.”

“Got it Cap!” Sheena then said with a grin.

“Actually, since all of us may be here for a while…” the super soldier said, not yet quite sure if what he was about to do was the right choice, “Call me Steve.”

“Alright Steve.” Sheena then said, and for the first time since he arrived in this odd world, Captain America felt some real hope in his heart that things might just turn out ok.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, why is Esteban's trial so short? Well... I ran out of ideas and decided he'd get the short end of the stick. That's it.
> 
> Tandy's part though... Okay, so it's most likely the elephant in the room so might as well address it now. I'm not biracial, but a white girl. I know nothing about social justice outside of what I've seen when it comes to trying to make things PC and older movies and cartoons and well... it's not fun when you notice that a cartoon you watched was cut in places, or that you'll never get to see Song of the South because it took place in the Civil War and was deemed offensive despite the movie being about an old man telling a kid some stories. 
> 
> Anyway, as Tandy pretty much told off her trial's "proctors" and called them bitches in Portuguese, I would like to remind people that I do not intend to offend people with this fic, and I just wish to entertain my readers. That is all. Also, in before someone calls Godwin's Law.
> 
> Finally, I believe we should now talk about Captain America's part with Bucky. I decided that after Tandy's thing, it would be best to follow up with something to hurt and still feel heartwarming. And what better way to do that than just well, have Cap face his old friend the way they used to be. This section also references the comics more than the cartoon due to how Bucky's described in this section, and also with a mention of the Invaders, a comic team consisting of Cap, Bucky, Namor the Submariner, The Human Torch (Not Johnny Storm, but a robot that sort of made a cameo in the Captain America Movie. Check the World's Fair scene and look for what looks like a mannequin in a glass jar before Howard Stark decides to do his thing) and well, Toro- who was the Torch's sidekick, and not a robot. 
> 
> Now, as for the last thing Bucky said before leaving? That's a secret for now~
> 
> Next time? Beezlemon gets the spotlight! ALSO DIGIMON TV SHOW CAMEOS!


	11. Beezlemon's Trial

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Beezlemon has to face some things in the final trial within the Tunnel of Regrets...

“Now, before I continue, I must ask all of you something.” AncientWisetmon said, “Due to Beezlemon’s past as a villain, his trial may be difficult to watch. Are you sure you wish to wait for him? Or would you rather go on without him?”

“No one gets left behind, human or digimon.” Cap said, with the kids nodding in agreement. “Beezlemon’s been helping us since we got here, we’re not going to abandon him because of a past we weren’t around for.”

“Very well.” the Data-Ghost then said, before showing the yellow Crown of Gluttony on his mirror, “This was your choice after all.”

And so the final trial began.

~~000~~

Beezlemon had no idea how long he’d been walking through, well, where ever he was right now. The starry expanse surrounded a shining path of light, with mirrors on either side of him. There were no actual walls holding up the mirrors though, and they simply floated in the starry void of space.

Then, he heard a voice.

“Beezlemon?” he heard someone say, and looked around before seeing something in one of the mirrors, or rather someone he didn’t really expect.

“Mervamon?” Beezlemon then asked, going to the mirror and placing his hand upon the glass. “What are you doing here!? I thought I told you to stay at the base and recover!”

“Base?” Mervamon asked, “What are _you_ talking about!? I watched you die as you let me and the others escape from the digital underworld! All I had left is one of your feathers, and yet here you are looking right at me! At _us!_ ”

“Us?” Beezlemon said, before noticing that Mervamon was not alone. With her were three children, two boys and a girl who seemed rather surprised to see Beezlemon. There were other digimon with them as well, but the main thing he noticed was that one of the boys had brown hair, goggles, and a red shirt. “I see, you’re not my Mervamon… and while I am Beezlemon, I’m not the one of your world.”

“Now what are you talking about!?” Mervamon said, her amber eyes starting to well up with tears as Beezlemon also noticed that her chest was more covered up than the one he knew in his world.

“You’re Beezlemon is dead, but I’m from a different version of the digital world- one where the battle you’re fighting now, never even began.“ Beezlemon then started to explain, “I know about your fight because well, someone that I owe my life to showed me other worlds where I existed, before giving me a second chance. Just as Mikey there gave your Beezlemon a second chance as Reapmon.” 

“So, is there a version of me in your world then?” Mervamon asked, looking both hurt and concerned over what she had been told “Are you two even allies?”

“Yes.” Beezlemon said, before laughing a bit as he continued “Though, she did try to kill me when we first met until the one who gave me my second chance, Mastemon stepped in and explained things… But despite that, we’ve become quite close as allies during our own war against evil.” Mervamon seemed to smile a bit after hearing that, as did the brown haired boy and the girl wearing a pink and white dress. The third child, a blond boy in blue simply grunted and rolled his eyes in annoyance, but said nothing.

“Do you… is your Mervamon well, do you care about her?”

“More than anything.” Beezlemon said, blushing a bit. “But, if it weren’t for Plutomon taking over the Digital World in his Coup, we’d be serving Mastemon, our queen… and maybe we’d be something more than just allies. I mean, I’m sure your Beezlemon loved you Mervamon, even if he didn’t get a chance to say it before his sacrifice. But, if all goes well for your fight, he’ll be back, won’t he?”

“Yes.” Mervamon said, “Thank you, Beezlemon… and good luck in your own war.” 

“Thank you, and good luck to you as well.” Beezlemon said, and the image then faded, causing the demon lord to begin walking once again.

~~000~~

He didn’t know how long it took for the next vision to appear, but he stopped again when he saw another mirror with an image, this one showing him a young human male with a “gloved” agumon, the variant being taller and thinner than the pudgier un-gloved kind. Beezlemon remembered him from the second vision Mastemon showed him: that of the world where he remained evil and was also nothing more than a tool for Lucemon’s revival.

“You again?” the teen said looking pretty annoyed, “And what’s with the armor?”

“Different Digital World, different Beezlemon.” the demon lord explained, remembering from the vision that this one, despite being a leader wasn’t that bright, nor was his partner. “Though, I assume the version of me you had recently defeated… pretty much deserved what he had coming to him.”

“So, are you going to have to fight us?” the brown haired human asked, looking not too happy about it.

“Cause we will if we have to.” said Agumon.

“No.” Beezlemon said as he shook his head, “I’d rather not fight if I can avoid it. I mean, I don’t even know your name, human.”

“Marcus Damon.” said the teen, “So, why don’t you want to fight us?”

“Because there are some humans in my Digital World that I had promised to protect,” Beezlemon then said, “and I intend to keep my word.”

“Fair enough,” Marcus said with a shrug, before looking as if trying to see if there was anything behind the demon lord. “So… what happened to your tail? Did it get removed or did you get the armor when you became Beezlemon?”

“It was removed when Mastemon, my digital world’s ruler, decided to re-write my appearance with a new one. And if you’re wondering: yes, it hurt.” Beezlemon said, before laughing a bit, “But on the bright side, the loss has made riding Behemoth a lot more comfortable, so I may be better off without the tail.”

The teen then laughed and gave the former demon lord a thumbs up, and wished him luck before the mirror went blank once more. And once again, Beezlemon was alone in his trial, and continued to walk until the next image appeared.

He didn’t have to wait long, as he was soon faced with his own image, though this one looked more like a biker and had a tail instead of looking exactly like the armored digimon.

“Oh sweet Yggdrasil…” the armored Beezlemon groaned, while his currently wingless counterpart crossed his arms and frowned.

“What’s the matter tin-can?” the biker said, his voice rougher and more gravely than his counterpart, “You don’t look happy to see me.”

“Well, either you’re the old me, or the me from the world with that pink blob, it’s kind of hard to tell right now.” the armored one said, his wings stretching a bit.

“Pink blob? Oh, yeah, D-reaper. So, I take it this means you’re from an alternate world but a completely different me?” the biker said, causing his armored counterpart to nod.

“I certainly hope I’m nothing like you.” the winged demon-lord said, while his counterpart laughed.

“How do you know you’re not?“ the biker counterpart asked.

“Because ever since I became a digimon that looked a lot like you, I couldn’t bear to like myself after what all I had done, and even now, I’m still surprised I even got a chance at redemption.“

“Okay, whatever you’re about to say, stop. Just stop.” the cruder Beezlemon said as he held up a hand and signaled his counterpart to be quiet, “If a guy like me, who murdered some little girl’s digimon partner can redeem himself, then as an alternate of me, you deserve it as well.”

“But-”

“No buts about it. You screwed up, and now you get a chance to make up for it. Don’t complain, don’t whine, and just accept it and be the damn hero you get the chance to be, got it?”

“Got it…” the armored Beezlemon said, before getting asked another question by his crude counterpart.

“So… you still have Behemoth?”

“Ride her whenever I can. In fact, the seat is a lot more comfortable without the tail.”

“Huh. You know, if I ever get that fancy armor myself, I may give it a shot.” the biker said with a shrug, before he started to fade. “So yeah, try not to end up bothering me in the future, okay?”

“Good bye to you too…” Beezlemon then said dryly once he was alone, and walked on once again, not sure what he’d face next.

~~000~~

Finally, he reached his destination: a large room lined with mirrors that sat under six symbols similar to his own Crown of Gluttony- but in the other colors of the rainbow, and the ex-demon lord was not looking forward to what was coming.

Immediately as he entered, the mirrors soon gained images of six digimon. A blond angelic boy with many wings under the red sign, a twin tailed alligator with a long mouth beneath the light blue sign, a creepy looking demon beneath the orange sign, an old man with a long beard and large nose under the purple sign, a sleeping beast beneath the indigo sign, and finally a woman with black wings, a purple kimono, black hair and a golden hand underneath the green sign.

The other six members of the Seven Great Demon Lords were facing Beezlemon now from within their mirrors, and the five that were awake were glaring at him.

“You caused us to be defeated, Beezlemon.” the angel, Lucemon then said as it pointed a finger accusingly at the black winged digimon.

“You and Lillithmon were able to live when the rest of us were destroyed!” Said the twin tailed monster, Leviamon.

“You damn bastard!” roared the creepy Daemon.

“You ungrateful brat.” said the old man, Barbamon who’s words caused Beezlemon to glare at him while the sleeping digimon, Belphemon snored peacefully.

“Why, why didn’t you let me die too?” the woman, Lillithmon then begged, “Why did you choose to betray us, my beloved brother?”

“Because if we didn’t surrender, we’d lose ourselves to become a complete monster and then be destroyed! What I did was better in my eyes than being turned into a mindless beast. ” Beezlemon said, before his eyes started to show regret. “Lucemon, Leviamon, Daemon, Belphemon… I’m sorry I was never able to save you as I did for Lillithmon, but as for you, Barbamon? You got what you deserved. You took us from the Primary Village before any of my siblings were born, you tortured and turned us into your fellow demon lords because you simply wanted to feed your greed for Mastemon’s power!”

“And what of me?” Lillithmon then asked.

“I begged Mastemon to spare you because I had hoped you would be able to redeem yourself, like I managed too. You’re my sister Lillithmon, I couldn’t let you die like our four brothers.” Beezlemon said, before clenching his fist as he became angrier, “However that turned out to be a mistake. You refused to change, you refused to move on from the past and instead helped Plutomon take over the Digital World, and you attacked the digimon I loved!“

“I attacked her because I loved you first!” Lillithmon shrieked, “I refuse to let that skull wearing harlot steal you away from me Beezlemon! But you became a goody-goody when you were foolish enough to try and leave your evil past behind. Do you really think Mervamon would love you back after all you’ve done?”

“I don’t really know, but I hope she will if she can see I’ve changed since then.” Beezlemon said, confidence burning in his eyes as he smirked and continued, “Unlike the five of you, I wasn’t completely raised by Barbamon! Leomon raised me to Rookie Level, but then he decided to steal your eggs and I was swept up by him while trying to rescue all of you. The only reason I had to be evil was because Barbamon forced me to do so in order to survive! Mastemon however, showed me other versions of myself, ones that could still do good despite what they are and what they have done!”

“You are such a fool…” Barbamon then said with a wicked grin, “Mastemon lied to you Beezlemon. Do you truly think she cared about your well-being, just because you betrayed us to warn Leomon about our attack on the Primary Village, allowing her to meet us at the crater he left when he moved it?”

“She’s at least someone worth listening to, unlike you Barbamon!” Beezlemon then said, pointing his giant arm cannon at the old digimon’s mirror, a fire of justice burning in all three of his red eyes, “You’re nothing by a greedy old bastard that never cared for any of us! You just wanted power by any means necesary, and I refuse to listen to your kind of digimon anymore! So take this! My love, my anger, and all my sorrow! _Oblivion Cannon!_ ” in a flash, the giant cannon on Beezlemon’s right arm fired off a dark orb that flew at a blinding speed as it struck and shattered Barbamon’s mirror and also destroying the crown of greed over it. After blowing the smoke out of the cannon as it cooled down however, Beezlemon then looked to his brothers and spoke.

“Lucemon of Pride, Leviamon of Envy, Daemon of Wrath, and Belphemon of Sloth.” he said quietly as he stepped forward. “I failed all of you twice, once when I tried to save your eggs from Barbamon, and again when Leviamon and Daemon became Ogudamon, while Lucemon and Belphemon were executed for following his orders when I was unable to beg Mastemon to spare you before it was my turn to die. I don’t know if you’ll truly forgive me for my failures, but if you’re ever reborn… I hope that all four of you end up as better digimon than what Barbamon had made all of us.”

Three of the four digimon he spoke to said nothing as the reflections faded, and their crowns went dim and grayed out, except for Belphemon, who still slept but still said something that surprised the ascended demon lord.

“Big brudder…” Belphemon had said in a voice that was just as adorable as it looked, “I hope I’m a better mon too…”

With a small yawn, the demon lord of sloth then faded away as well, and Beezlemon turned to the only one that was left: his sister Lillithmon.

“What’s this?” she asked with a sly smile, “Is there something you still need to say?”

“Yes.” Beezlemon answered, his tone quite grim as he continued, “If… no, _when_ we face each other in the Ring of Love, I will offer you one last chance to change. However, if you do not accept it I will have no other option but to do what should have been done in the first place. I will execute you in Mastemon’s name for the crimes you have committed, Lillithmon, in order to ensure the future safety of Digimon everywhere. I wish I did a better job of helping you redeem yourself when I convinced Mastemon to spare you, but if you refuse to change, then there will be no mercy for you, my Sister.”

“We’ll see about that, my dear Beezlemon.” Lillithmon then said and frowned as her image faded away.

Moments later, Beezlemon’s trial was ended, and the former demon lord stood alone in the tunnel, a lot on his mind as he once more began to walk.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this chapter as you can tell has cameos from the show. Specifically, Mervamon, Mikey, Nene and Chris from Digimon Fusion, Marcus Damon and Agumon from Data Squad, and finally Tamers Beezlemon.
> 
> Now, when I originally wrote this chapter, an acquaintance was having a huge time hating herself and well, I was stuck trying to balance writing the chapter and helping her. Unfortunately, she became a black hole of self loathing, and it became like talking to a brick wall and well... the result ended up affecting my writing a bit. Thankfully, I edited before posting the chapter here on AO3, so hopefully it looks a bit better.
> 
> Anywho, let's talk cameos and why I chose them!
> 
> Fusion: While it was mainly the dub shown on Nicktoons, as referenced by how Fusion's Mervamon has less cleavage shown than the version in other media, I still loved the ship between her and Beezlemon. Sure, in the end Mervamon got her boyfriend back and glomped him but when Beezlemon died? Sweet Grimm did it hurt! 
> 
> Data Squad: Okay, so Beezlemon only showed up in a game set in the show's time line, but eh, still counted. Also, Marcus and his Agumon will return. 
> 
> Tamers: Honestly? I felt I couldn't just have Beezlemon in this fic without referencing his appearance in Tamers. I mean, I can really just see that bad ass demonic biker not tolerating any angstmonkey-BS from any version of himself and would be willing to be blunt in his advice. Also, I really hope Tamers!Beezlemon was in character here because if not, then whoops. 
> 
> Next, this chapter shows Beezlemon's relationship with the demon lords. In the original version, Belphemon didn't say a damn thing and was just there snoozing the whole time. However, I decided to add a line from the sleeping digimon for two reasons: 1) Cute heartwarming fluff and 2) Hinting to the fact that Belphemon DID get reborn.
> 
> As for Beezlemon blasting Barbamon's reflection? Yes. It's a G-Gundam Reference. I... I felt it would have been perfect. 
> 
> Finally... there's Lillithmon. While Beezlemon views her as a sister only, she seems to have viewed Beezlemon as something more than a brother. And if that creeps you out now? Just wait until Arc 2.


	12. Operation: "Iron Rescue" is Go!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Our heroes leave the Tunnel of Regrets at last and return to their original mission: Rescue Tony. However, it is not going to be easy.

“Congratulations Beezlemon!” Everyone cheered as the Demon Lord and Resistance leader joined Cap, the kids, and their digimon at the refreshment table.

“Gotta admit, that little speech you gave that bearded blighter before blasting him was actually pretty cool.” Percy said, and causing Beezlemon to blink all three of his eyes.

“Wait, how did all of you know what was going on in the mirror?” Beezlemon asked.

“We saw what happened on AncientWisetmon’s mirror.” Cap then said, before smirking a bit as he added “You really are head over heels for Mervamon, aren’t you?”

“Well…” Beezlemon said, blushing quite a bit before switching his attention to AncientWisetmon’s ghost data. “A-Anyway, did you plan everything I went through in the trial?”

“Actually…” the data-ghost said, “I have no clue where that hallway came from- and I’m actually supposed to know everything, You were only supposed to face the past… not… well, get into little chats about yourself… or with yourself.”

“I see.” Beezlemon said, “And Ancient Wisetmon? I’m sorry about disregarding your prediction before all of this happened.”

“What do you mean?” Megan then asked, “Can AncientWisetmon predict the future?”

“Yes.” Beezlemon said, “A few years ago, he came to Mastemon while I was in the room, and said that a great darkness was coming because of Mastemon’s choices in the past. At the time… I well, thought it was an insult aimed towards me.”

“Well, it is understandable considering your past.” AncientWisetmon then said, “But, I’ve let the slight go and forgave you after Mercurymon decided to kill me to try and gain the crests. By the way, I’m glad all of you could earn them. Also, please try and activate them before facing Plutomon, and if you happen to activate at least one while facing Mercurymon… I’m sure the results will be rather explosive.”

“Thank you AncientWisetmon.” Cap then said, before turning towards the group, “Alright everyone, we have a mission to get back to! Raid the factory, rescue Tony and the digimon held captive there, and turn the communications tower back on!”

“Oh, you’re heading there?” AncientWisetmon’s ghost then said, “You best be careful. Devimon happens to be in charge and does not happen to be very fond of intruders.”

“Eh, we’ll be alright.” Percy said, “After all, we’ll put together a plan and pull it off so fast, the bad guys won’t know what hit them.”

“Right!” the other kids said, and with Sheena moving out first, they, Captain America and Beezlemon finally left the tunnel, not seeing AncientWisetmon fade away as he was finally be put to rest.

~~000~~

Once everyone had a chance to let their eyes readjust to the light, the group saw the Factory below them, and from what the super soldier could tell, it was currently guarded. After Cap had Sheena and Bruce send out their digimon to scout ahead, and telling Beezlemon he’s more likely to be identified if he joined them, the group waited for the two rookies to return.

An hour later, the lavender falcon and the large bee digimon did just that, and made their report. Or rather, FanBeemon did while Vukumon seemed a bit too hyped for battle.

“The Factory is surrounded by a metal wire fence, and topped with cameras at each section.” The insect digimon began, drawing out the factory on the ground with a claw, “There are also Guardromon patrolling the outside, and so they need to be taken out or distracted if we are going to be able to sneak in. Tony Stark and the Cutemon prisoners are on the east side of the factory, where they seem to be putting together… well… portable toilets. No sign of Devimon though.”

“Toilets?” Cap asked, looking at Beezlemon questioningly.

“Yeah… this was a factory for toilets used at construction sights and other bathroom related things. Why it was built next to the Communications building, I have no idea.” The resistance leader then said, before clearing his throat.

“Right…” Cap said, deciding to never let Tony live this down after the mission was done, in case he ended up being full of himself later. “Anyway, here’s what we’re going to do. Tandy? You and Wizardmon are in charge of the distraction. The rest of us are going in, so here’s what everyone else will be doing…”

~~000~~

Esteban and Ryudamon walked up to the fence, keeping clear of the cameras as best as he could by hiding in a bush right next to it as the young Spaniard started off the plan. Once Tandy had digivolved Candlemon into Wizardmon, they used her partner’s “Magical Game” ability to create something to draw the guards attention, specifically a fire spirit and a lightning storm followed up with stone spikes destroying the guards outside the fence. Hearing the ruckus this caused as other guards ran to investigate, Esteban then touched the fence and sent a charge through it with his mutant powers- the electrostatic shock going all around the perimeter and short circuiting the cameras completely.

Then, it was Percy’s turn. Using Reppamon’s bladed tail, he cut open a hole that was large enough to let the rest through. Soon however, they found a locked door, but Percy managed to pull out a set of lock-picks (where he’d kept them, Cap didn’t know), and managed to then get them in. Once inside, they took a moment to remind themselves of what to do next.

“Beezlemon, you, Percy, Tina, and the twins are to go into the main building and find Devimon. Since Kudamon’s a holy beast digimon- if I remember correctly from what you told me, that makes him pretty effective against the enemy.” Cap said, “The rest of us will go into the factory and find the prisoners. Once communications are up, you keep us updated on anything you find out through the D-Watches. Wisemon did say they could be used to keep contact, after all”

“Understood.” Beezlemon said, and so the two groups then went off to take care of their own parts of the mission. As the demon lord and his team rushed down the halls, they seemed to note that nothing seemed to be attacking them or try and slow them down as they reached the central control room for the Comm. Center.

Upon entering the room, they soon discovered why.

Waiting for them was a tall, devilish digimon with tattered wings, an orange bat on his chest and horns on his head. He seemed to be wearing a mask though, and his pale chin and red eyes showed quite clearly as smiled towards the intruders.

“So, once again the Resistance has decided to enter my domain.” Devimon said, “And it seems this time, the leader himself has decided to grace me with his presence. But, why oh why should a Demon Lord as yourself insist on helping digimon instead of ruling over them?”

“Shut the hell up Devimon.” Beezlemon said bluntly, “I’m not a Demon Lord anymore.”

“Lady Lillithmon’s worries seemed to have come true,” Devimon then said with an exaggerated sigh, ignoring the kids for now, “You have become a foolish weakling haven’t you? All because Mastemon decided to strip you of your old powers and turn you into an obedient dog and a pale imitation of an angelic digimon. Oh how I look forward to destroying your companions and capturing you. I’m sure she’ll love to just take you to her chambers, restrained and unable to fight back and then just take advantage of you right on her be—”

“HOLY SHOT!” Kudamon then cried, blasting the monologuing Devil in the face.

“Thank you, Kudamon.” Beezlemon said, pointing his giant arm cannon at the evil digimon just as the other kids digivolved their partners. “ Now then Devimon, Lillithmon may be evil, but she is still a sister to me, and _just_ a sister. So if you want to continue that little train of thought, I will make sure your sick and twisted ass is heading for a one way trip to Anubismon.”

“Oh, she’s going to enjoy every minute of showing just how much she loves you!” Devimon said with a grin, causing Beezlemon to roar and start shooting like mad. The other kids then joined the attack with their digimon, Porcupamon slashing away with its claws, the KnightChessmon using their giant darts to create more holes in its wings, and Kudamon using a few more Holy Shot attacks to keep it down.

Devimon didn’t stand a chance, and was starting to disintergrate as Beezlemon held the barrel of his cannon to the digimon’s face, while his smaller shot-gun was pointed at the digimon’s groin.

“Got anything else to say smart-ass?” Beezlemon then growled, “Because I’ve got an itchy-trigger finger right now.”

“Destroy me if you must,“ Devimon said, “But I’m not the only one in charge of this place, as my brother is the foreman of the factory. In fact, it was our high standing with Lillithmon allowed both I, and IceDevimon to run this place when we were sent here to babysit that mad digimon, Mercurymon… and big brother’s watching over the prisoners right now.”

“Thanks for spilling, Devimon.” Beezlemon then said with a smile as he raised his arm cannon while keeping his handgun, before looking at Percy. “Shall we?”

“Of course.” Percy said, “Kudamon, go for the head!”

“On it!” the bullet weasel said, “Holy Shot!”

“Berenjena SDX!” Beezlemon shouted, shooting the smaller gun straight into Devimon’s body, destroying the evil and rather perverted digimon for good.

Once the fight was over though, Percy spoke up as Beezlemon started typing away at the communications system’s main computer.

“You call your gun _Berenjena_?” he asked as he fiddled with his D-Watch, “You realize that means Eggplant in Spanish, right?“

“I wasn’t the one who named it. That was Vulcanusmon, the guy who made my two original Berejenas and the SDX.” Beezlemon said, just before he grinned as the systems started up “And that should do it! Try and warn the others about IceDevimon!”

“Got it!” Percy said, clicking a button on the opposite side from the “Map”, “Unlock”, and “Digivolve” buttons, and then tapping a screen to select who to contact among the other kids. “Sheena, you read me?”

“Loud and clear!” Sheena said, her voice crackling to life on the boy’s black and purple D-Watch. “Fight didn’t last long I take it?”

“Yeah, it was too easy.” Percy said, “Devimon’s also not the only one here, he’s got a brother, IceDevimon who’s with the prisoners as their gaffer, so be careful!”

“Thanks!” Sheena then said, “We’ll keep the info in mind!”

“Alright.” Percy said, before getting an idea as he decided to then ask, “Also, Esteban, you’re listening in, right?”

“Yes?” said the young Spaniard, “What is it?”

“Did you know that Beezlemon’s guns are called _**Berenjena**_ , and they were made by someone called Vulcanusmon?” the punk said, and was answered with a series of irate Spanish ranting as the young punk smiled and cut off communication.

“Was that really necessary?” Beezlemon then asked, looking quite unamused despite secretly finding the boy’s little joke to be endearing in a way. Mainly because he did something similar when he was still an Impmon, long before Barbamon entered his life.

“I’d like to think so.” Percy said smugly before heading back to join Tina, Scott, and Jean. “Anyway, let’s go meet up with the others, they could need the help.”

“Right.” Beezlemon said, and so, the Communications team started to move out.

~~000~~

Meanwhile on the other side of the building, Esteban was ranting in Spanish about eggplants and swearing vengeance upon Vulcanusmon until Cap had to tell him to be quiet. Soon though, they entered the toilet assembly line, and spotted Tony and the imprisoned digimon, which looked like a group of pink rabbits with headphones and red scarves.

Before they could even take a step though, they heard laughter overhead, and looking up saw a white, demonic looking digimon with a purple bat-symbol on his chest, and having tattered wings that still managed to let him fly above the rescue team.

“So, it seems I have rats to deal with.” IceDevimon said, “No problem, and after I’m done with all of you and ship you off to Mercurymon, I’ll have to ask him to let you work he-”

A shield to the monster’s face cut him off, and as he glared at Captain America as the weapon returned to him, it was quite obvious he wasn’t too happy about being interrupted.

“Okay you know what? You’re first.” IceDevimon then said, raising his red finger towards the Super Soldier (the ones on either side of the digit being ice white,) before he attacked. “Tundra Freeze.” Two blue beams them left the digimon’s crimson eyes, and Cap raised his shield to try and block it. However, the beams didn’t bounce off the vibranium shield, and instead started to form a block of ice around the super soldier.

Captain America, for the second time in his life, had been frozen, and Sheena, Bruce, Esteban and Megan were in some big trouble as they and their digimon were left to face IceDevimon alone, all while the prisoners paid them no mind as they kept on working

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this chapter is where we finally get the plot moving again! Now, originally chapters 8-11 would have just been one large chapter together. However, I then realized it would have been better to just split them into parts as well, that'd probably be way too much to read, much less type. 
> 
> So, why is the factory for portable toilets? Well, because I thought it'd be funny if Tony was found working on them when he was rescued. In hindsight, this may have been the first sign that Tony would become a butt monkey for the fic... besides losing his armor anyway.
> 
> Now, originally, Devimon would have been bragging about how he slept with Lillithmon, and that he and his brother had a three way just to troll Beezlemon. However, when I read back over the scene, I realized that well, it was kind of stupid and so I changed it to Devimon saying that Lillithmon would turn her "brother" Beezlemon into her boy-toy. Which kind of not only hints more at how creepy she'll probably end up being once she makes her real appearance in the fic, but also helps me show how Beezlemon views the idea: As a berserk button that should not be pressed. So yeah, the first major villain seen in Digimon's TV history went from a menacing figure, to a freaking asshole and a pervert. 
> 
> IceDevimon on the other hand- as much as I loved how he sounded like Christopher Walken in Frontier (my least favorite series) and Fusion, I kept imagining him sounding how he did in Tamers in terms of voice. And yes, he did flip off Cap before freezing him. The fact that Devimon even has a red middle finger in either normal or Ice form kind of made it difficult not to do.
> 
> But yeah, Cap's frozen and now Sheena, Esteban, Bruce and Megan are on their own, and at the moment, Megan just has an in-training level partner. 
> 
> Y'all probably know what's coming, don't you?


	13. We're Here to Help You Tony! Waspmon's Debut and Dorimon's Evolution!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The battle against IceDevimon occurs, and Megan's partner shows how strong he really is.

The situation looked pretty bad. Captain America was frozen, the culprit laughing evilly as he was left facing off against four kids and their digimon. As Sheena and Esteban digivolved their partners to help distract the frozen devil, Bruce and Megan snuck off to where the prisoners were working, hoping to snap them out of their funk and gain their help.

“C’mon Cutemon,” Bruce said to the small pink digimon, “Wake up! Please! We need you!”

“We came to rescue you guys, can’t you see that?!” FanBeemon said as well, but the other digimon paid them no mind, and continued working as Megan tried to get Dorimon to break their chains with his teeth. Unfortunately, the metal seemed too hard, and the digimon’s efforts only managed to scratch the surface at best.

Then Dorimon noticed Tony Stark.

“Chomp!” Dorimon then chanted as the purple ball of fur rushed toward him at blinding speed, and struck the man’s leg, nearly knocking him over. However that still didn’t get a reaction, and so Dorimon did what if did best: bite Tony in the rear.

“Yowch! What the hell?” Tony Stark then said, following up with a few curses as he tried to yank off Dorimon. Unfortunately, he was loud enough to get IceDevimon’s attention. Seeing that there was trouble in the work force, the cold hearted digimon then attacked.

“Avalanche Claw!” he said, and with a movement from his wing, Icicles appeared and headed straight towards Tony and Dorimon. Things seemed to be going badly, and they might have died, if FanBeemon hadn’t intercepted them with a few Gear Stingers of his own.

“Don’t think so!” the bug said, and immediately after that, Bruce and Megan’s D-Watches started to act up. With a click of the unlock and digivolve buttons and a swipe of their fingers on the touch screen, two lights headed for their partners and they changed.

“FanBeemon Digivolve to,” the bug then said before changing into a much larger robotic form with jets on his shoulders and a large cannon below its tiny waist, “Waspmon!”

“Dorimon digivolve to,” the little ball of fur then growled with its mouth full, and when the light faded, it was now half Tony’s size, and looked like a cross between a purple fox and a small T-rex with cat-like ears and a pair of tiny dragon wings on its back. Sticking out most was the fact there was a red windowed interface on its head. “Dorumon!”

Of course, its mouth had managed to move his jaws from Tony’s butt to the man’s arm while digivolving, and as it had grown bigger, the technological Genius was not too happy to be used as a chew toy. So, he then started struggling to get free by grabbing a wrench and hitting the monster on the head. Of course, he failed to notice the battle going on around him, and as the little dinosaur seemed to keep his grip on Tony’s arm despite being hit right on the interface, the normally armored hero tried to figure out what was keeping this thing so adamant.

“Stop it right now!” Tony then heard a voice say, and after turning his head, saw a little girl with brown hair, a black and white dress and a red sweater glaring at him. “Here we are with Captain America trying to save you, and you don’t even notice! Now Cap’s frozen, my friends and their digimon are trying to beat the bad guy, and you’re just hitting my partner when he was trying to help snap you out of what Mercurymon did to you!”

Tony looked surprised and then confused for a moment, before frowning at the girl. “Impossible. Cap’s dead, and so are the other Avengers. There is no way they can be alive in this crazy world, because if they were, I wouldn’t be in this factory now would I?”

It was then that the pain in Tony’s arm faded as Dorumon finally let go and spoke. “If you don’t believe us, then why don’t you get off your ass and look over the Yggdrasil-damned conveyor belt, you fragged up jerk!”

“Dorumon!” Megan said, “That wasn’t very nice.”

“He hit my head. With a wrench.” growled Dorumon, “I’m not really in the mood to be nice right now, Megan.”

Ignoring the ensuing argument, Tony then stood up and saw the battle, he was surprised to see three other kids, a weird humanoid with a spiked helmet and boxing gloves lined with Lavender feathers, an armored dragon shooting spears out of its mouth, and also a giant robotic wasp firing what seemed to be an infinite amount of stingers at an icy demon. Of course, he then spotted a block of ice on the ground, and saw Cap himself, frozen once again. It was at that that Tony finally acted, picking up a toilet seat from the conveyor belt and as a little light returned to his eyes, threw it at IceDevimon.

Unfortunately, he ended up missing and didn’t even hit the monster’s boot, the failed projectile bouncing off the floor for a bit, rolling on it’s side and going unnoticed once it finally stopped.

“That wasn’t a very good throw.” Megan then said, looking very unimpressed.

“Oh, as if your pet dino-fox can do better.” Tony then said, only for Dorumon to step up to the conveyor belt and open its mouth.

“Metal Cannon!” it said, before charging up and firing a ball of metal that not only hit IceDevimon enough to hurt, but also managed to break the digimon’s wings and send him towards the ground.

“Apparently, he can.” Tony then said, standing corrected as he watched the other digimon attack, all while Megan simply looked rather happy her partner made such a great shot.

“Bear Buster!” Waspmon shouted, firing a laser at IceDevimon, who was then stomped all over by Ginryumon. However, even that was not enough to finish off the digimon, as it struggled to get back up.

“Kuku Beatdown!” Kukumon then yelled, the shining white boxer then pummeling the fallen, frozen fiend into a fine paste before it exploded into data.

With IceDevimon defeated, the room then began to noticeably get warmer, and in a few minutes, cap was able to break out of his icy prison.

“I can’t believe I let myself get frozen again…” Cap muttered as he brushed off some ice from his shoulder, “And it wasn’t even for a good reason this time.”

As Tony watched, he then noticed the door open up and a group of kids, more monsters and a black winged angel with a large cannon on his arm run in, the boy leading the group having ash-blond hair with a blue streak in it, gray eyes, and overall looked like a punk, especially with what looked like a weasel with a bullet on its tail just hanging around the boy’s neck.

“Oh man, did we miss the fun?” Percy Black then said, while the black haired boy, Esteban adjusted his glasses.

“We had things handled, even if Captain America was frozen in the process.”

“Oh, as if we didn’t handle things on on our end? At least we got communications going again.” Percy said, and it seemed like the two boys were about to get into a fight, when Cap broke it up.

“Later you two, we have Tony. the Cutemon, and the other digimon to evacuate.”

“Yes Sir…” the boys said, while the black winged angel- who apparently had three eyes and a purple, kind of bird like mask, flew over to Tony and the pink-rabbit things the man had just now noticed he was with, and break the chains they had on their legs to release them. However, while Tony was at least aware of what was going on, it seemed that the others were still out of it, and had to be led out of the factory by their rescuers.

Once outside though, Tony Stark saw yet another kid, this time a girl with dark skin, running towards them and carrying a living candle that looked pretty worn out.

“Oh man, about time!” she said, “Candlemon wore himself out after defeating all those digimon guards. We’ve been waiting a couple of hours now, and honestly? I did not expect the mariachi band he summoned to destroy what was left.”

“Good work Tandy,” said Beezlemon, while deciding not to question the mariachi thing due to how strange the digital world could be sometimes, “We’ve completed our part of the mission as well, so we can go back to base and rest.”

While the kids and their digimon cheered, Cap moved over to Tony, a smile on the super soldier’s face.

“Glad we could get you back.” he said, while Tony just glared at him.

“Shouldn’t have bothered,” said Tony, “As far as we know, the other Avengers could be dead, and both of us along with those kids will be next.”

Cap looked shocked to see his friend and fellow Avenger so grim, and realized that even though he was aware of what was going on, he was still under the effect of what Mercurymon had done to him. It was then that Beezlemon pulled out another Gatedisk and activated it, and in a flash of light, the heroes, Tony, and the Cutemon were gone from the Factory.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so this chapter ended up being a bit short. Eh, oh well.
> 
> So yeah, Tony's had a chance to be a literal chew toy, Megan's partner digivolved into Dorumon, FanBeemon got to become champion level, and apparently we end up missing Tandy's fight which might have gotten crazy.
> 
> Sadly, I will be unable to write that crazy battle, and it will forever be a noodle incident. Well, until someone else decides to write it for whatever reason. Also, The Mariachi thing? It's sort of a hint as to just how powerful Tandy's partner might actually be since such a thing is not normally done by a Wizardmon. 
> 
> That, and I felt it'd be funny for Tandy to reference SOMETHING about the fight to make you guys wonder what all happened while the others were busy. 
> 
> Anywho, in regards to Dorumon's first complete sentence after digivolving? Well, how'd you feel if you were in his situation? I also feel this shows Dorumon's grumpy side, and also hint to how he'll be in a couple of chapters.
> 
> Next time? Tony will start to (temporarily) get his head out of his ass over what happened to him. As well as start his stint as the fic's punching bag.


	14. Tony and the Resistance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The heroes return to base, and start a bit of down time. Though after an argument with Cap, Tony Stark has a run in with Sheena.

As it was the first time for the heroes to actually be using a Gate Disk, when they arrived in the throne room of the base the Digi-Knights, their partners, Cap and Tony all felt a little disoriented while the Cutemon didn’t seem to notice anything at all. Beezlemon however, merely stretched his wings and arms and looked pretty good compared to the others.

“Welcome back.” the group then heard someone say, and turning towards the throne, Beezlemon looked elated to see that Mervamon was sitting before them, fully recovered and looking ready to fight. Standing on either side of the throne were Angewomon and LadyDevimon, and as Tony soon noticed what looked like beautiful women, the recently released prisoner walked up to them and smiled.

“Well, if I knew that there would be a lovely welcome party, I wouldn’t have minded being rescued after all.” Tony said, before giving Mervamon a wink. “So, got plans for tonight, Beautiful?”

Little did Stark realize, the moment he started flirting with Beezlemon’s crush, the former demonlord glared at the super-genius, and looked quite ready to try and shoot Tony if it weren’t for Mervamon’s snake arm, Medullia coming up to hiss at the stranger.

“I do actually.” Mervamon then said, “I plan on catching up with Beezlemon, so if you don’t mind, I advise you get yourself settled before trying to hit on Resistance members.”

“Right…” Tony said, before backing away quickly. Beezlemon however, looked quite relieved, and decided that it was time for the group to start relaxing as he quickly shuffled them out of the room.

~~000

Later on, Cap and Tony had taken time to look around the base, and try and catch up. As Cap explained what all he knew however, Tony Stark looked kind of annoyed.

“Listen, Cap,” he said as he moved away to avoid getting run over by what looked like a bear in a blue baseball cap and red white and teal dragon laughing and running through the market that the ruins surrounded, “I know you’re trying to get me in the loop, but I really don’t care if those kids are supposed to save the world or something. I’ve been captured by the big bad, had my armor taken away, and then shipped off to an island at the very edge of wherever the hell this place is even located where some mirrored maniac used me as a guinea pig. I have been tortured, put through hell, and for all either of us know, the other Avengers are dead.”

“You also forgot being put to work in a Toilet Factory.” Cap then said, not liking how his friend was acting. “And we don’t know if they’re alive or not, Tony, but we both know that they won’t let themselves be killed easily.”

“Yeah?” Tony then said, “Well you certainly took your sweet time trying to find me!”

“Because we didn’t know where you even were until the Monitamon saw you go into the Factory with the Cutemon.” Cap said, “Before that, we had no idea what to do, or where to even begin our search, and I was also trying to make sure those kids didn’t get themselves killed!”

“Need I remind you that you let yourself get frozen, again? What will those kids even do if you end up dead in this insane world?” Tony then said, before walking off. As Cap watched him, the super soldier sighed and lowered his mask, showing the blond haired and blue eyed face of Steve Rogers underneath it. Cap had no idea how to get Tony back to normal, and was unsure if his friend even could after all that happened.

~~000~~

Tony paid no attention whatsoever to the young digimon walking past him as he wandered the base’s interior, hoping to find something in this place that at least resembled a bar. He wasn’t even sure if these creatures even had anything like alcohol, but he did know he was considering the idea to start drinking again after what he’d been through. As he opened the doors to what he had hoped was a bar though, he instead found the library, where the pink haired girl and her bird from the factory were talking to a blue and silver winged suit of armor. However, as he was about to close the door and continue his quest, the armored man turned and spoke to him.

“Ah, it looks like we have a visitor.” he said, while the girl waved at Tony, “Why don’t you come over here and introduce yourself?”

“Why should I?” Tony said, before attempting to leave the Library. However, the armored man simply got up, quickly walked over to the genius, and placed a hand on Tony’s shoulder.

“Because honestly, it seems you need to talk to someone.” the armor then said, “In fact, I insist.”

Tony then found himself being dragged to the table and forced to sit down, as the armored angel sat down next to him and poured some tea.

“Wow Seraphimon,” said the girl, “You’ve certainly gotten better since I last saw you, you didn’t even need to pick up your staff that time!”

“Thank you Sheena,” said Seraphimon, before placing a cup before Tony, who only stared at it and frowned.

“You don’t happen to have any whiskey or anything else with alcohol in it, do you?” Tony then asked, only for Seraphimon to shake his head.

“No. Now drink your tea.” the angel then said, just as the lavender falcon landed in front of Tony, and somehow managed to smile with its beak.

“Hi! I’m Vukumon!” said the bird, but Tony simply moved to swat it away, only for Seraphimon to grab the man’s arm before it could even touch the bird.

“Please don’t try and harm Vukumon,” Seraphimon then said politely, “I am rather fond of her and Sheena, so if either of them is hurt by you, there will be dire consequences.”

“Yeah, sure…” Tony said, grumbling as he snatched his arm back. “So, why am I being forced to sit here at this little tea party?”

“Didn’t Mercurymon use a machine to crush your hope Mr. Stark?” Sheena then asked, causing Tony to feel pretty cold then, his eyes widening as he thought about what he went through.

“How did you know?” he then asked with a glare, nearly growling at the girl

“Because Mercurymon used that same machine to try and destroy me.” Seraphimon then said, “He also used it on countless digimon to turn them into his servants, the mad mon thinks it’s only a way to get what he wants, but he fails to realize that losing hope can severely damage a digimon or even a human in your case.”

“I feel fine.” Tony then said, but the look he got from the girl made it quite clear she could tell he was lying through his teeth.

“Before meeting miss Sheena,” Seraphimon then continued, “I was a lot like you Tony, and believed that Hope was lost. But, then I met this wonderful girl, and I started feeling a little hope, and also recovered a small a bit of power. Sheena has also managed to help fill other members of the Resistance with hope again, which has also restored my power as the Lord of Hope. I personally believe she can help you too.”

“Big deal.” Tony then said, “So Pinky there is a beacon of hope. Listen Seafarermon, or whatever you’re called, if I can’t help myself, then there is no way anyone can help me right now. Especially not some kid.”

At those words, Sheena then stood up, walked around the table, and looked a bit angrily at Tony. As the grown man raised an eyebrow though, she immediately punched him in the face, before she began chewing him out.

“Will you get your head out of your ass and start looking around you!” she said, “I am sick of your little pity party Mr. Stark, and right now you’re safe in the Resistance thanks to me, Cap, and the other kids that were brought here when Murmukusmon attacked! Leomon even died facing him, and tried to help you back on earth, remember?! If we hadn’t even risked our necks to try and get you back, you’d probably still be making toilets and feeling like shit!”

Tony just blinked for a moment, before remembering the kids and the school, and also the fight that started off this whole mess.

“Didn’t you have brown hair?” Tony then asked as he rubbed his face and feeling a pretty bad shiner form, while Sheena continued her rant.

“Not the point right now! Back home on earth, my dad sold some of the electronics produced for the public by your company, and the stuff you made, combined with the fact that you made your first suit of armor in a cave out of a bunch of scrap- with someone’s help to boot, inspired me to try making my own tech! Sure, I caused dad to buy extra floor models for me to take apart and look over before macgyvering them into something else, but I wouldn’t even be able to if you hadn’t just became Iron Man in the first place most likely. Even during the Ultron Incident, you didn’t try to run away or lock yourself in your room, you stuck it out and actually won, even when it seemed hopeless!”

Tony was silent as the girl took a deep breath and walked back to her seat. She then placed her backpack on the table and pulled out a small robot with a screen on its body, and also looked kind of cute. Switching it on, the little robot then whirred to life and stood up.

“Hello, I am Nav-Buddy.” it said, it’s voice coming out crackly through the speakers, the bot looking around for a moment as it tried to scan for a location. However, the robot instead simply ended up shutting itself down after it spasmed for a bit. Pulling a screwdriver out of her bag, Sheena then opened up the back and tried to see what the problem was, as Tony watched.

“Glad it worked long enough to introduce itself,” Sheena then said, apparently looking at the bright side of things, “It’s still a prototype after all, so there’s bound to be problems. Once I find them and improve it, it should work better.”

“What did you use to make that?” Tony then asked, realizing the kid had admitted to using some of his tech for her own stuff.

“Let’s see, gutted an old GPS my dad had lying around, a toy robot for the limbs, and also used some parts from a few Stark Industries Mini-computers my dad had leftover. Old models that were out of date, nothing that would affect sales too much.”

Tony, for a moment looked pretty annoyed that Sheena had admitted that she some of his stuff for the machine, but he was then kind of impressed that she actually knew what she was doing enough to just use the older products for her dad’s sake.

“Make anything else?” he then asked, probably going to regret it.

“Besides Nav-Buddy? Let’s see,” Sheena said as she got out more tools from her backpack, Vukumon and Seraphimon just being quiet and just letting the two humans chat. “I’ve made a few minor things like simple programs to help me with reminders when I get too into my work, as well as a computer controlled helicopter that can fill up and drop water balloons, which I used to get back at Tina when she started calling me a freak because of my hair color. I also made a miniature EMP blaster from a flashlight, a home-made electromagnet, and one of the extra floor models Dad got to show off the Stark Phone 3. I just used that to mess with Tina’s phone during her presentation by having it work like a laser pointer instead of making it a pulse or wave generator, and Dad had to to call an old friend of his in SHIELD to come by and confiscate it.”

“You made an EMP?” Stark said, surprised and also relieved she didn’t have it with her. He smiled a bit as he started feeling something though, before looking at the robot she was working on. “So, how do you plan to fix it if you don’t have the parts?”

“I’ll think of something.” Sheena said, as she started putting her tools away and gently picked up the little robot. “I usually do, but I’ll probably just have to go on to the Tech-lab down in the basement.”

“There’s a lab?” Tony then asked, smiling even more at the thought, “Think you can show me?”

Sheena looked at Seraphimon for a moment, who simply nodded at her. “Sure thing Mr. Stark!”

As the two got up and left the library once Sheena grabbed her bag and her little robot, Seraphimon said his farewells and chuckled as Vukumon flew after them. As the two tech-geeks walked down the hall and headed towards the basement lab, Tony took a glance at Sheena’s watch.

“So… think we could take that apart and take a look at it?” he then asked,

“Already checked it out back home.” Sheena said, “It’s kind of like a virtual pet toy with a touch screen that’s been combined with a smart watch. Also a tool to help save the Digital World apparently, so probably wouldn’t be the best idea to take it apart around the digimon while we’re here. Anyway, are you feeling better?”

“Well besides the fact you pack a hell of a punch, I’ll admit that I’m feeling a bit better.” Tony said, “But only a little bit. So, what all is in the tech lab?”

“Well, there’s some tools the Resistance uses, Gate Disks like what Beezlemon used to bring us here, Recovery items for healing in the field, computers, and also Wisemon.”

“Wisemon?” Tony then asked.

“He’s the head of the Tech Lab, has a giant book behind him at all times, and sometimes lets out some mechanical legs from out of the chest area of his robe. Also, he has two orbs of time and space floating around him.”

Tony whistled, and soon spotted a familiar purple digimon heading towards him and Sheena, only to move out of the way as it passed and growled at him.

“Don’t worry, you’re not the first person Dorumon bit. That honor goes to Steve… er… I mean Cap.” Sheena said, causing Tony to raise an eyebrow.

“He shared his real name with you kids?”

“Short version involved a tunnel, a lot of trials and some ghost data. You can ask Cap about it later.” Sheena said as she kept walking.

~~000~~

When the trio reached the lab, they had just seen Esteban leave after being examined by Wisemon, Tony seeing the giant book facing him as the master of the lab was about to let Percy go as well. Sheena blushed as she realized that the punk wasn’t wearing a shirt, while Tony noticed that the boy had around his neck a golden chain attached to a small gray rock with a green stone in the middle that seemed oddly familiar.

Unfortunately before he could ask, Wisemon seemed to sense them as Percy walked by, and decided to chat it up. After some probing on Tony to gather Data to compare to the Cutemon, Sheena had managed to get him out of the lab by suggesting he bring the Cutemon to see Seraphimon. It was after Wisemon left that Sheena, Vukumon, and Tony gave a sigh of relief.

“Anyone else find the legs creepy?” Tony asked.

“Yep.” Said both Sheena and Vukumon as the girl went to the table and placed the small robot she had brought with her down on top of it.

“So…” Tony said as he watched Sheena get to work, also noticing that two of the chips she used were ill-fitted onto the motherboard. “Cap mentioned that Leomon was sort of a father-figure to most of these digimon?”

“Yeah.” Sheena said as she kept focused on her robot, “He raised practically all of them as best as he could in the Primary Village, before they went off on their own. So, when he died, most of the Resistance’s morale plummeted in mourning.”

“I can see why…” Tony said, remembering how after his father was dead, he was raised by Jarvis, the family butler and as a result, came to feel inadequate compared to his father’s work. Especially after learning about Arsenal- a robot invented by Howard Stark to be a friend to Tony, and also how it had ended up being the very center of the Ultron Incident. He also remembered the machine’s sacrifice, and how it seemed to willingly throw itself into the sun to get rid of the omnicidal Ultron that took over its systems. He then realized that while digimon were apparently being living data based on what Cap had told him, they had minds and wills of their own, and also wondered if perhaps Arsenal’s old programming might be lurking around somewhere in a different form.

Worryingly enough, that also led him to worry if Ultron’s data was also hidden in the Digital World as well.

“Something wrong?” Sheena asked, causing Tony to flinch.

“No, it’s nothing.” he said, before trying to change the subject. “Need any help with that?”

“You sure you’re up for it?” Sheena asked with a smirk, “I mean, you seemed to be in a pretty bad mood earlier, so I don’t know if you’d be able to do so well right now.”

“Oh, we’ll see about that!” Tony said with a smirk of his own as he accepted the girl’s challenge. Snatching the tweezers away and taking a look at the bot, Tony quickly swapped the two chips around as he spoke. “You know, if you’re going to use tech I developed for your own projects, it’s kind of insulting if you don’t pay attention to how you use it. Also, next time make sure the chips don’t end up fitting awkwardly on the motherboard, even if its capable to use them.”

Sheena simply smiled, glad to see that Tony was definitely feeling better before asking another question.

“You know, I told Cap about this idea when we got here, but I was thinking that if the Avengers’ Membership cards used a different frequency from cell phones, what if we combined one of those cards with the GPS to try and see if we can located the other Avengers?”

Tony looked surprised, before reaching into his pocket and pulling out his card, and after a little tweaking, plugged it into the little robot’s systems and turned it on. As it whirred to life and sounded much better, both Tony and Sheena looked at the screen, and saw six lights. Two on a little island that was most likely there current location, three more on the main land and a sixth in an entirely different part of the digital world. Of course, seeing that one of the blips was on the move, Tony actually smiled.

“Sheena, right?” he said, “It’s not often I say this to other people but, you’re a genius.”

“I’ve been told that by dad, and his buddy that’s still in SHIELD.” she said, shifting a bit and causing something to go “clink” in her bag.

“What was that?” Tony then asked, as Sheena pulled out a couple of thin, diamond like crystals out of a side pocket of her backpack and held them up.

“Just something I borrowed from my mom’s old gear.” Sheena said a bit nervously, “She used these while working for SHIELD before she died, so I figured that if I ran into a supervillain or some big trouble on the way home from school, I would just throw one at them and make a run for home as it either poisoned them, burned them with acid, or just exploded.”

Tony blinked as he heard her explanation, vaguely remembering Hawkeye and Widow mentioning an agent that used the same tools who went by the codename Diamondback. As he realized this was most likely that agent’s daughter, and was also wondering why she just had to have some dangerous tech in her backpack, when it could just go off at any time.

“Does anyone else know about these?” Tony then asked, “Also, you should be more careful with these things, you did state that they might explode after all.”

“I know, I know,” Sheena said with a groan, “but I can’t exactly carry them around on a bandolier like mom used to. Someone might notice and figure it out, and I promised dad not to let anyone know mom was Diamondback. Besides, these could be useful against Mercurymon when the time comes to fight him.”

Tony blinked as she mentioned using the things on that shiny bastard, and hummed to himself as he went over to the computer to see if there was any music available to listen to as he thought about making himself some new armor. While the girl did have a point, two of those diamonds might not be enough.

“Okay, here’s the deal,” he said as he continued looking through Wisemon’s files in search for something worth listening too, and learning that the digimon was apparently a fan of They Might Be Giants and also having a library of older songs he figured Cap might have known more about than the tech genius, “I’ll help you make more of those diamonds, but you’ll have to help me with some new armor. Deal?”

“Deal.” Sheena said with a grin, pulling out a third crystal and placing it with the rest as Tony started up a song called “Midnight Crew” and started planning specs. Vukumon of course, was then sworn to secrecy by Tony, and also did her best to help by giving suggestions and getting them tools.

All the while though, Tony’s funk had passed and now the leader of the Avengers was not only eager to try and get back at the monster who used him as a guinea pig, but he was also planning to have a few surprises for when the time came to get his old armor back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, it seems that Tony is back to his old self, right?
> 
> Well... later on Tony's going to turn back into an asshole, and also stay there for a while.
> 
> Anyway, Sheena's mom. Originally, her mom was just going to be some random lady who died when Sheena was little. Then, I started getting ideas about her mom being an AU version of Diamondback from the comics, and well... here we are.
> 
> Also, the fact that Sheena's got a missing parent, and likes to punch things... I just now realized she's a pink haired, female fusion of Thomas Norstein and Marcus Damon from Data Squad. Holy Crap.
> 
> Though, it ain't as bad as the other expy I realized I had in this fic...


	15. Percy Confronted

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After seeing Wisemon, Percy ends up revealing the truth to Captain America in private.

Percy walked down the halls of the Resistance base,intent on going back to his room and relax. He had just finished an examination from Wisemon, who had heard Scott mention things getting oddly cold around Percy whenever the punk seemed to be visibly angry lately.

Of course, Wisemon couldn’t seem to find anything off with his metal limb probes, and so let the boy go. Sure, on his way out he had walked past Sheena and Tony Stark, and while he did notice Stark had seen his necklace- a gift from his grandfather, Percy was quite thankful he managed to get away without being confronted.

Then he saw Captain America head his way.

“Percy!” Cap said with a smile, “I was looking for you. Do you think we can talk about that encounter with Apemon?”

“No.” Percy said, walking past the super soldier, and did his best to ignore him as he made it to his room. Of course, as Percy was about to enter, Cap said something that made him stop.

“You know, I’m pretty sure Asgardian Magic can’t really be performed by humans, so that might mean you’re not actually from Earth, are you?”

“You’re dead wrong.” Percy said in annoyance as he entered his room, “Also, you should really just leave the subject alone.”

Cap however, seemed quite determined to get some answers and so followed the boy inside and closed the door behind him.

“Percy,” Cap then said, “I just want the truth. From what I can guess, you look a bit like Thor, and must be related to him somehow, right?”

“Wrong.” Percy said, getting a bit irritated as he made his way towards his bed.

“Then what if it’s Loki you’re related to?” Cap then asked, and realized he may have hit on something when Percy didn’t even respond. “In fact, Loki might make more sense. If you’re really Thor’s kid from something he forgot about, then it would probably be unlikely for you to learn magic, unless Loki either found out, or was actually more closely related to you than his brother. Knowing Loki however, he might have taught you magic for some evil plan, most likely towards Thor, and possibly told you to keep it a secret from your mother to keep Asgard from sending someone to investigate. However, something must have went wrong back in your home town, and you were forced to move, just because your parents found out and wanted to keep Loki from using you as a tool against his brother.”

As Percy listened to Cap’s theory, he growled as he hated what he heard.

“Will you just shut up and leave me the bloody hell alone?!” Percy then shouted, the room getting noticeably colder as his skin turned pale blue for a moment, and his eyes turned from slate gray to bright red. Cap was stunned, and as Percy calmed down, realized that the boy might not have been an Asgardian in the first place.

“You’re a frost giant then?” Cap asked, while Percy rolled his eyes and sat down, Kudamon remaining silent for the moment and seemingly unaffected by the temperature drop as it sat comfortably around his partner’s neck.

“Wrong again.” Percy said, crossing his arms. However, it was then that his silent partner spoke.

“Percy… you should just tell him.”

“He’s not going to believe it anyway, besides, it’ll just cause mum and dad more trouble than they need.” Percy said, while Cap, still in the room cleared his throat.

“You don’t know that Percy.” he then said, “And how do you know your parents are actually, well, yours?”

“Don’t you dare ask me that!” Percy then snapped, “Of course they are my actual parents. But with mum being Loki’s daughter, and the powers that skipped her going to me while all she got was a bit more durability and strength than average, do you have any idea what would happen if people found out I’m Loki’s grandson?!”

Realizing what he just said, Percy flinched and turned away from Cap as he grumbled a bit. As for the super soldier himself, he had not even thought about the possibility of one of Percy’s parents being a child of Loki, or that Loki could even be a father at all. Of course, he then remembered how bad his own father was before his death- abusive towards his mother when the man was drunk, and feared that something similar could be done by the evil god.

“Percy, I’m sorry.” Cap then said as he sat down next to the boy. “I should have left it alone like you asked, especially if you’re family could be targeted by Loki.”

“It’s not Loki that could go after them.” Percy said, “But actually, Odin, the rest of Asgard, and possibly even Thor.”

“What?” Cap asked, visibly confused before the boy groaned.

“Believe it or not, Loki’s actually a pretty good parent and in my case, grandparent.” he then said, “Yeah, while he’s the God of Evil, he does actually care for his kids like my mum, his own sons with Sigyn, his daughter Hela, and also the monsters he fathered along with Sleipnir. Sure, it’s weird having a serpent that was summoned by Dr. Doom that one time, a monster wolf, and an eight legged horse as uncles, but three of them were mothered by an ice giant, while Loki gave birth to the horse himself. Shapeshifting is one of the things he does, you know.”

While deciding not to question the implications of Percy’s stranger relatives, or that Loki was indirectly responsible for the incident with the Midgard Serpent, one name the boy had mentioned was probably going to be the safest for Cap to ask about.

“Who is Sigyn?”

“She’s Loki’s current wife.” Percy explained, “He kind of killed her real betrothed and pretended to be him at their wedding- which Thor officiated believe it or not, but despite that, she’s pretty loyal to him. So loyal that she intends to stay by his side when Ragnarok comes about, and is destined to help ease his pain as he’s tied to three rocks by uncle Narvi’s intestines after Uncle Vali gets turned into a wolf to kill him, and also has a giant snake drip venom into his eyes after Baldur gets killed.”

Cap, having been once again caught off guard, then wondered why Thor never mentioned Loki’s children, or that the god of Thunder could perform wedding ceremonies before. He probably had his reasons, but to hear all this about Loki, especially what would happen to his sons during Ragnarok was shedding new light on the villain.

“So, what all does Loki do to show he… well, cares about you and your mother?” Cap said, having noticed that Percy never really mentioned his dad in relationship to his Grandfather. Probably due to Loki just not being that fond of the man for some reason.

“He visits when he can.” Percy said, “Which isn’t often considering his status, and even less now that me and my folks are living in New York. But when he does, he makes sure not to mix his plans in with us, for Mum’s sake. In fact he’s pretty protective of me and mum. One time, we were surprised by a couple of thugs back in Cardiff, and Gramps scared them off with a few conjured magpies that just so happened to breathe fire, and once they’re gone, he comes up disguised as a bobby- or well, a policeman since I’m the only Brit here, and just walked us back to the flat before coming inside to reveal himself. I was only five years old at the time, but it was still pretty cool.”

“I’m sorry, but I’m still surprised Loki of all people can show love to family… considering his relationship with his brother and Odin.” Steve then said, “How do you know its not a trick?”

“Because I trust my Gramps.” Percy said, “That, and he taught me a few spells, as you figured out and we talk about stuff sometimes…. even if he also sometimes turns himself into a woman.”

“He can turn into a… nevermind.” Cap said, not really needing to know that, “So, what do you and Loki talk about?”

“Well, sometimes we talk about how I’ve been doing since his last visit, sometimes I learn a new spell, but sometimes we talk about Ragnarok. He’s tired of the cycle of Asgard being destroyed and reborn with the other realms besides Midgard, him being adopted by Odin, growing up to cause Ragnarok and also that punishment I mentioned before. He’s actually been considering averting it, but isn’t sure if the cycle can be broken at all.” Percy then explained, before sighing, “Averting Ragnarok is also what my trial for the Crest of Love was centered about. Had to convince a copy of him to break the cycle for good when all hope seemed lost.”

“I don’t think Loki can pull that off.” Cap then said, “I mean, as much as I, and especially Thor would enjoy seeing Loki going good, he’s not going to be accepted immediately by everyone else after all he’s done, especially Asgard.”

“If you don’t like how a story ends, change it for the better. What’s a lie if nothing more than a story?” Percy then said as he layed back on his bed and looked up at the ceiling.

“You lost me.” Cap said.

“Okay, from what Gramps told me, he’s the only one out of all of Asgard to remember every cycle leading up to Ragnarok. He knows how the story goes, and because of that he’ll be able to figure out when to stop it and change the ending. Even if it means going from god of lies and evil to becoming a story teller in the process of breaking the cycle of Ragnarok and saving Asgard for good.”

“Even if he can pull it off,” Cap said, “Loki is still a villain despite apparently having a heart. What’s to stop him from going back to becoming evil again?”

“Change is going to be hard, sure,” Percy said, “But if Loki of all people can pull it off, it will be worth it, right? If he needs help, mum and I will be there to support him. Sure, he’s evil, but he’s still family and well, we love him.”

Cap nodded, noting that Percy was not only optimistic about his grandfather’s plan, but also pretty loyal. Of course, something else came to mind.

“So, why the fear of what Thor or other Asgardians might do if they find out?”

Percy gave the superhero a flat look as he spoke again. “Think about it. If word got out that Loki had children on Midgard, not only would they try and come after us to see if we had any powers, or were just normal humans, but also bring trouble to me and my parents. If Thor found out, who’s to say he won’t be suspicious of us because we’re related directly to Loki?”

“Thor actually loves his brother.” Cap then said, “In fact, he also regrets Loki becoming evil at all despite being on opposite sides.”

“It’s really Odin’s fault to tell the truth.” Percy then said, “If he hadn’t played favorites with Thor after adopting Loki once his real father Laufey the ice giant died, then Gramps would probably be just a trickster instead of a villain. I mean seriously, he’s given Odin grandchildren and a steed, while Thor hasn’t even gotten together and married Sif yet like he does in Norse Mythology, which practically tells all about the events leading up to Ragnarok, but for some reason just goes ignored by Asgardians.”

“You do realize we averted Thor’s death after facing the Midgard Serpent in battle when Doom raised it, don’t you?”

“Yeah…” Percy then said, “Because the cycle’s pretty set in terms of sequence of events, when ‘Uncle’ Jormungand was woken up early by Dr. Doom, Thor wouldn’t have died because other events needed to happen before the battle was meant to happen. In fact, Ragnarok doesn’t really start until Loki tricks the blind god of darkness and winter, Hod, into killing his twin brother Baldur with a bit of Mistletoe. So, if you try and do the sequence out of order before Baldur’s dead, then nothing happens.”

“Thor might be interested to know all of this.” Cap said, rather surprised by this information as well.

“Don’t.” Percy said as he turned his head to look at the super soldier while Kudamon was curled up on the boy’s chest., “I’d rather not have anyone else know about Grandpa right now, so let’s just keep it between you, me, Bruce, and Megan… since those two watched my trial on Ancient Wisetmon’s mirror… body.”

“Alright.” Cap said, feeling uneasy about keeping secrets after chewing Tony out about it back during the terror Ultron had caused back on Earth. “But Thor and the others will need to know eventually Percy… and I can’t believe I’m about to say this, but when we get back home, I hope Loki manages to change.”

“Thanks.” Percy said as Cap left the room. He wasn’t really looking forward to falling asleep tonight, since he did manage to keep the fact that Loki had been watching them back on Earth to himself, and he knew that if he watched him and Cap, he was going to be in trouble.

~~000~~

Meanwhile, back on Earth. Specifically in the Triskellion, everyone in the building that had seen the feed from Monitamon had been stunned into silence at what they learned. Some weren’t sure if it was true, and those that believed it were concerned about Loki and what might happen if he did fail to change.

But that was nothing compared to what one Lady Sif had felt. She had only been to the Black’s home only a couple of days before, and instead of Loki, she had met an old man staying with Tess Black and her husband, Ian. Of course, she soon realized that she had been tricked, and was considering going back there to bring Loki in, but then thought about what Percy had said about Ragnarok and her fate with Thor. She knew she had to tell Odin about this, but wasn’t even sure if she should in case it caused Ragnarok to happen anyway, and if she didn’t, she’d risk Loki causing trouble on Midgard.

It was when Director Fury had turned on the building’s PA system, that she quickly moved to turn it off.

“What are you doing?” Fury then asked, “Loki is out there, and we need to capture him and bring him in for questioning.”

“Loki has been quiet since Thor vanished, and he has not actually done anything as of late to warrant his capture.” Sif pointed out in disgust, “I’ll go back to the house and get the truth, alone.”

“Alright.” Fury then said with a frown, “But be careful Sif. We both know what Loki can do.”

~~000~~

Later on, Sif had arrived at where Tess, Ian, and “Lucas” Black were living, the simple house looking the same as it had since her last visit. Of course, she could hear Loki inside, panicking about what he had no doubt seen as she had, and knocked anyway.

Tess was the one who answered, the black haired and green eyed woman not at all happy to see the Asgardian woman again.

“I know you are not happy to see me Tess, daughter of Loki.” Sif said, causing the woman to flinch as the Asgardian warrior made it quite clear she knew. “But, I can hear your father through the door, and I would like to speak with him about the Monitamon’s feed today.”

Tess closed the door, and turned to her father, who looked like he was about to turn into a mouse and flee, while Tess’s husband Ian- a man with gray eyes and brown hair with a few streaks of gray that also wore a simple white t-shirt and jeans, had walked in from the kitchen in time to overhear what was going on.

“Sif’s back, she knows, and I’m guessing so does SHIELD.” Tess said, “Dad, I know you’re not happy about what Percy ended up doing, but this was going to happen sooner or later.”

“Yes, I know but-” Loki said, before noticing the look his daughter gave him, basically telling him to man up and just talk to Sif without any tricks. Sighing, he then went to the door and opened back up, with his son in law simply groaning and going back to the kitchen to make some tea for their unexpected guest.

“Sif.” Loki then sighed as he looked at the woman warrior in the eye, “Listen, I know how things look right now, and that Percy was forced under duress to admit we’re related, but I had nothing to do with Thor being dragged off with him. So please, just don’t hurt my daughter… or her husband, and I’ll turn myself in, without any trouble.”

“I’m not going to hurt them Loki.” Sif then said, “All I want to do is talk to you inside. Nothing more, nothing less.”

The God of Mischief was rather confused by this, let her into the house. “Why?”

“Because I want to know if you really do know about past cycles of Ragnarok, or if you’re lying through your teeth like you normally do.” Sif told him as she sat down on the couch. Sitting next to her, Loki looked quite grim as he spoke again.

“It’s true. Ever since the first cycle ended, I’ve been able to remember past cycles, it started when it was too late, at first, feeling like deja vu, but then, the memories came earlier and earlier in my life with each cycle. This time, it happened five years after my adoption by Odin.”

“Why didn’t you tell anyone then!?” Sif shouted, just as Ian came in and swiftly set down a tray with a few cups and a pot of tea on the coffee table, Loki calmly pouring himself a cup before also using his magic to do the same for Sif.

“I was a child, I certainly don’t think anyone would believe me. In fact, the memories of past cycles tended to get muddled quite a bit until I just turned evil this cycle over learning I was actually a frost giant, you know, our enemies?”

“So you went mad because the memories combined with the shock from the truth about your real heritage caused you to nearly kill all of Jotunheim with the Bifrost, and also nearly kill Thor.” Sif then pointed out.

“Exactly.” Loki said as he sipped some tea, “My… little moment of course, was just the first main difference in this cycle compared to the others, so I do believe that it can be averted. I’ve already had all my children that I normally do every cycle, Sleipnir included, but I’ve also went out of my way to have a fling with Tess’s mother and father her as well. Of course, there’s also the fact you and Thor have yet to marry as was done in past cycles.”

“So… that is true then?” Sif asked, “Thor is to be my husband.”

“Yes. However, there have been distractions for my brother as you no doubt have noticed.” Loki said, with Sif frowning as she knew just who he meant, “And that’s not even getting into the fact that Amora and her sister have both become infatuated with him, and myself in Lorelei’s case no thanks to Amora, and overall have just become more prominent than in previous cycles. There’s also your brother Heimdall’s skin darkening quite a bit this cycle, that idiot Von Doom’s attempt to control Jormungand and cause him to kill Thor early, and also the various plots and plans I’ve done to cause trouble for Thor while he was on Midgard. Of course, I will admit most of them only happened because I was bored and also a little angry at Spider-Man.”

“That’s an understatement.” Tess then chimed in, causing Loki to clear his throat while Sif tried not to laugh.

“In any case,” Loki then said, “Thor’s disappearance at Highland Academy was not my doing. All I did was just check to see how Percy was doing, and then bolster that Lion Man’s body enough to make sure he could protect the boy and his classmates from that other monster’s fire attack. I honestly didn’t expect for the creature’s egg to remain in Midgard at all. Not to mention what happened has absolutely nothing to do with the current Cycle at all, and I’ve been worried sick about my grandson this whole time.”

“So, Heimdall was right about you not being involved… at least, not involved in the way we would have expected from you.” Sif said, causing the god of mischief to roll his eyes.

“It’s Heimdall. I’m not surprised he knew about Tess and Percy, since no one could probably get a private moment in any of the nine realms when he’s watching. Why do you think I actually went looking for those secret passages between realms that he could always end up overlooking? Honestly, Heimdall might as well be more devious than myself, with who knows what other secrets he could be keeping.” Loki said, before picking a biscuit off the tea tray and taking a bite.

A few moments passed in silence as Sif just took the information in, Tess not really looking that phased, as she most likely heard it all before. When Loki finished eating of course, he then sighed.

“Sif, I’m just tired of going through the cycle again and again.” he then said, “I’m tired of starting it and being cursed to always remember it, even the cycles I had Hod kill Baldur, all because I thought he’d be able to remember the past cycles as well. I’m tired of losing my children, of Narvi being killed by his brother, while I’m tied to those blasted rocks by my own child’s intestines. I’m especially tired of getting venom in my eyes whenever Sigyn goes off to empty the bowl when it gets full, even if it’s been getting larger the last few cycles. I just want the cycles to stop once and for all, and break it for good. Besides, being God of Evil as well as being the God of Lies, Mischief, and Chaos have made me predictable, much to my annoyance, and a change of pace might be better for everyone.”

“Loki, I cannot believe what I am about to say but,” Sif then said, earning the villain’s attention, “I want to help you avert Ragnarok.”

Loki, as well as Tess both looked stunned before the former asked the obvious question.

“Why?”

“Because I know Thor would want you to change, more than anything. He misses the brother that made him laugh, and cheered him up in the past with his tricks. And since I love him, I want to make sure he survives instead of dying in Ragnarok.” Sif then said, before noticing Loki starting to tear up a bit.

“Thank you.” he said, before immediately looking a little awkward as he continued. “Also, I would like to apologize for shaving your hair clean off when we were children.”

“What.” Sif said flatly, looking quite annoyed.

“I was a child, and jealous! Besides, I did make up for it!” Loki then protested, “In fact, the past cycles had me cut your hair after you and Thor get married, and I always get forced to have new forge new hair for you, the last cycles with gold, but since you already had golden hair this cycle, I didn’t have any to pay the dwarves, and you ended up with black hair because they were ‘strands of naught for the price of naught.’ In fact, Thor actually likes you better with raven hair than with gold.”

“I’ll let this pass for now,” Sif then said, “But, try it again this time and I will throttle you.”

“Understood.” Loki then said, and soon, the two new and highly unlikely allies started talking about other things, causing much relief in Tess as she listened to her father tell Sif about a few misadventures he and Thor had been on without her. She noticed that Loki seemed to be having fun as he got into telling her the story of how Thor had to fool a giant by dressing as their mother in order to get back Mjolnir, and also about the bet Odin had made to rebuild that broken wall with his wife as the prize- causing Loki to save the day by turning into a mare to lure the mason’s horse away and later giving the all father Sleipnir.

As Loki kept telling stories, Tess could actually feel something different in the air around him, and she smiled as she knew that perhaps, this was one scheme that Loki wouldn’t have foiled after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this chapter in my opinion is what mostly sets up stuff in the second Arc for Percy Black. This is also the first chapter where we get to see what's going on back on Earth.
> 
> Now, some of the stuff discussed is from Norse Mythology, such as Sleipnir, Sif's hair, and Sigyn. Also, yes. Sif is apparently Heimdall's sister, and I also slipped in a reference to the Thor movie. As for Amora and her sister? They're from the comics, and I pulled some stuff from the comic history as well. 
> 
> Also? Some Norse Mythology will also play a part in the second Arc when it comes to Thor, especially in that arc's final battle. Though, it may not be what you think it is.
> 
> Finally, for those wondering how Loki's villainy is Odin's thought? Well, Loki was prophesized to be a dick, and so he was treated like one until it came true. So, since Loki in this fic figured things out.... well, he's going to try and end not just the Ragnarok cycle, but also the cycle caused by the damn prophecy.
> 
> Next time? Dorumon goes to Champion Level.


	16. Reptiledramon's Savagery

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A party is planned to boost morale, and try and restore hope in the Cutemon. But, when the guests of honor leave the base, Megan, Cap and Dorumon go after them...

Beezlemon and Mervamon were worried. Even though the Cutemon were rescued along with Tony Stark, they still seemed miserable and hopeless. What was worse, was the fact that their mood was also affecting the morale of the other digimon in the resistance.

“What are we going to do?” Mervamon asked, “We need hope if we’re going to have any chance to defeat Mercurymon and actually start working towards liberating the Digital World from the rest of Plutomon’s forces.”

“I know.” Beezlemon said, “But if Seraphimon can’t help them, what can we do? It was a miracle that we managed to get the Digi-Knights to arrive, and in the process we lost Leomon. What are we going to do to help the Cutemon if I can’t figure out a plan to get what we need without losing anyone like last time?”

“Trouble in Paradise?” said the voice of Tony Stark, causing Beezlemon to grumble a bit as he turned to face him, and relaxed a little as he also saw Captain Rogers with him as well.

“Steve… Tony.” Said the resistance leader, his tone shifting a bit as he looked at the black haired, bearded human. While the Super Soldier was in uniform still, the fact that his friend wore a plain pair of jeans and a black t-shirt with something glowing on his chest showed a clear contrast between the two men, as Beezlemon noted to himself as he explained the situation about the low morale and the Cutemon’s disposition. Things were silent for a few moments afterwards, but soon Cap had an idea.

“You know, I once fought in a war back on Earth,” Cap then began, “And when troops morale would drop, the higher ups would gather them together and bring in performers from back home to help entertain the troops and keep them from getting too depressed.”

“What would these shows consist of?” Mervamon then asked, while her snake Medullia lifted its head in curiosity.

“Singing, dancing, music for most of them. Or they could be comedy routines, skits, or just a speech to boose morale.” Cap then said, causing Beezlemon to consider the idea.

But then Tony spoke up.

“Or, instead of gathering acts for a show in case we might not have time to pull it off, we could just throw a party.” he said, “You know, music, dancing, mingling, snacks and things like that. Easier to set up, and no having to worry about finding the perfect act. Of course, back on Earth, I was pretty good at throwing a party Mervamon, perhaps when this is over, you and I could get together and I’ll show you a good time.”

Unfortunately for Tony, this bit of flirting caused Beezlemon to get slightly ticked off as he reached for the holster on his leg, opened it up and quickly drew his double barrel pistol, which was the size of a sawed off shot gun for a normal human. Holding it up to Tony’s head, the demon lord glared as Cap stepped in between them.

“Beezlemon, calm down.” he said.

“Calm down?!” Shouted the demon lord, “Tony’s just hitting on someone who’s not interested in him, and it just so happens to be someone I actually like a lot! I am not going to stand by and just let him do that!”

“Woah, woah,” Tony then said, “I didn’t know she was your girlfriend Beezlemon, though, I’ll admit, she is kind of hot despite the snake arm.”

“Now wait a minute!” Mervamon then said, “Beezlemon and I are not a–”

Of course, things kept escalating, and Beezlemon broke his gun free of Cap’s grip and pounced on Tony, dropping his gun and just punching the guy. This little brawl ended up turning into a four way battle, and the digimon and the superheroes ended up getting tangled up and fighting with each other in a ball of violence.

It however, wouldn’t stop until Seraphimon showed up with both Angewomon and LadyDevimon, the Lord of Hope clearing his throat just to get their attention.

“Er…” Beezlemon said, looking quite embarrassed as he let go of Tony’s neck and stood up, while Cap had his shield in Meramon’s face to block her from headbutting him.

“Wow, if you four are having trouble getting along,” LadyDevimon then said, “I guess we’re going to be screwed if Mercurymon attacks.”

“Sister,” said Angewomon, “Do not be so hard on them. These are tough times for all.”

“That is quite enough.” Seraphimon then said, before Beezlemon can explain, “I don’t care who, or what started it, all that matters is that the conflict ends. Now then, I believe one of you said something about a party, before things became… intense?”

~~000~~

Later on, Cap walked down the halls of the base. The majority vote went to Tony’s party idea, and after the normally armored hero mentioned they could use Wisemon’s music to help with the thing, Cap learned that it isn’t a good idea to mess with Wisemon’s music. Mainly due to the fact that apparently the last digimon that did so ended up sealed inside one of the spheres that was always around the mysterious digimon. Thankfully, Tony didn’t add anything to the play list, but the warning was definitely heeded for future references.

So, while Beezlemon, Tony, and Mervamon planned (with Seraphimon overseeing to make sure another fight didn’t break out), Steve Rogers was left with spreading the word and seeing if any of the kids were willing to help. Unfortunately, Sheena had pulled an all-nighter working on a project with Tony, and was asleep in her room, Percy was sick in bed after catching a cold and being watched over by Valkyrimon, and Esteban was busy testing his powers with Wisemon, who also gladly offered the use of his music playlist as long as no one messed with it. After that, Cap went to find Tina, Scott, and Jean, only to find them wore out from some independent training they had decided to do.

In the end, the super soldier managed to get the help from Tandy and Candlemon, who went to help prepare snacks, Bruce and Fanbeemon, who went to help Cap spread the word about the party, and Megan and Dorumon who were now walking behind him as they tried to find the Cutemon.

It wasn’t long however, that the three learned that some of the digimon had spotted the Cutemon heading into the jungle, and still looking like zombies. Worried that the digimon were going to do something stupid, they immediately went after them. It wasn’t long before they found them, especially since they had managed to get themselves into trouble. As Cap could clearly see, the three, pink, bunny like digimon had managed to encounter a band of green, kind of ugly digimon all with red mohawks and wearing brown clothes and all wielding wooden clubs with four bolts screwed into the head.

More noticeable however, was the large, even uglier green digimon with horns, long white hair and a mouth that didn’t seen to be capable of closing due to the large fangs inside it. He also noticed that the monster wore not only a lot of belts on its body, but also had a large femur as a weapon. 

Of course, neither the obvious bully and his minions didn’t compare to the fact that the Cutemon trio were afraid.

“Now leave them alone!” Cap then shouted, getting their attention as he flung his shield at the smaller digimon, while Dorumon joined in to tackle the stragglers, and also being sure to keep the Cutemon safe. Megan however, could only watch the fight, and all three heroes didn’t seem to notice the boss wasn’t taking part in the fight, and had snuck away.

That is, until Megan screamed when it grabbed her.

“You know,” said the big monster, “I had hoped to get my hands on those Cutemon’s scarves, but a human? Well… that’s just a different prize!”

The monster than ran off with the girl, the Goburimon staying behind long enough to let their boss escape and keep Dorumon and Cap from following before running off themselves.

“GET BACK HERE YOU COWARDS!” Dorumon shouted after them, before looking at Cap, “C’mon! We need to go save her!”

“Why?” said one of the Cutemon then, before stepping forward in a bit of confusion, “It’s not very likely you’ll be able to save her… there’s more of them than you, and Ogremon’s said to have power that could rival Leomon. You both could die.”

“I don’t care!” Dorumon then said, “Megan’s my partner, and it’s my duty to protect her! I’m not going to fail again! I refuse to let someone I care about lose their lives because I was distracted! And I won’t give up without trying first!”

“Dorumon, what are you-” Cap began to say, but never got to finish before the digimon ran off after the goblin digimon and their boss. Turning back to the Cutemon, the super soldier then spoke to them. “Do any of you know what he meant by again? Or well, anything about Dorumon or what it can turn into?”

The lead Cutemon nodded, “There’s a story that before Plutomon took over the digital world, there were Thirteen armored digimon known as the Royal Knights. Their leader, was a rarely seen digimon known as Alphamon, the Aloof Hermit. It’s said that Alphmon also had a brother named Dorugoramon, who went mad and tried to destroy the digital world when a monster turned into an undead digimon. The two brothers fought and Alphamon didn’t realize who he was fighting until the battle was over. He was so distraught, that he is said to have deleted himself, hoping to be reborn and take better care of his brother in the next life.”

“That… sounds familiar, minus the deaths.” Cap muttered, thinking about the relationship between Thor and Loki back on Earth. “Anyway, you three get back to base, there’s a party being thrown for your benefit, and when Dorumon and I get back with Megan, we can celebrate together, alright?”

“If you say so..” Cutemon then said, before urging its comrades back to the base. “Don’t think you’ll win.”

“Never doubt the good guys.” Cap then said with a smile, before running after Dorumon.

~~000~~

It wasn’t long before Cap found them, following the sounds of a fight going on. When he arrived at what he assumed to be Ogremon’s camp, he was shocked to see Megan tied up against a post with a boiling pot nearby, and Dorumon doing his best to fight Ogremon on his own. The supersoldier was also there in the nick of time, as it seemed that the Goblimon surrounding the battlefield were preparing to jump in and overpower the stubborn furry digimon.

Not on Cap’s watch. With a throw of his shield, the digimon were knocked out as the weapon bounced around, before cutting Megan loose and returning to cap. As the little girl ran towards the Super Soldier, Dorumon kept Ogremon busy, charging at it to attack, only to get batted away by the monster’s bone club. As Dorumon got up however, it seemed pretty badly beaten, and Cap worried that it might try and kill itself just to keep Megan safe.

“Dorumon!” the little girl cried, “Stop it! Please!”

“No!” Dorumon then shouted, “It’s my job to keep you safe Megan, and if I let myself get deleted to do that, then I won’t stop until then.” The digimon then charged again, and just like before, it was swatted away, landing on its side and struggling to get up.

“D-Dorumon! No!” Megan then shouted as her D-watch went off, and acting quickly used it to have her partner evolve.

“Dorumon… digivolve too…” it said weakly when the light hit it, before it faded to reveal a yellow, furry lizard like digimon with a metal torso and arms, as well as bladed wings and armor on its head, ankles, and underbelly, “Reptiledramon!”

“Oh, so now you’re all armored up huh?” Ogremon then said as the newly digivolved and refreshed Reptiledramon growled angrily, “You haven’t even gotten that much bigger, so what’s stopping me from hitting you to the side again?”

“Ambush Crunch!” Was all Reptiledramon said, and in a flash, the digimon charged yet again, before jumping and pinning Ogremon to the ground before it could have a chance to block. As it struggled under its opponent, Ogremon could only scream as the yellow furred and steel bodied digimon started biting the vital areas, tearing apart and actually causing it to bleed. Cap and Megan were horrified as it then savagely attacked the Goblimon, the beast’s golden eyes gleaming as it showed no mercy.

It didn’t stop until Megan buried her face in Cap’s chest, the Super Soldier holding the girl as he watched the carnage. Realizing that his partner was afraid, the savage monster snapped out of its fury and spoke.

“Megan, are you okay?” it asked in a rough and kind of intimidating voice, causing the girl to sniff and cry as she refused to look at her partner.

“Y-You monster!” she said, “I hate seeing blood and guts and other gross stuff! Why, why did you have to be like that!?”

“Megan…” Reptiledramon said, feeling quite hurt as it turned back into Dorumon, “I was just trying to save you… I’m sorry.”

“I don’t care!” Megan then shouted, “You nearly died to save me, and then, then you were so mean to those other digimon as you… you killed them! Even the others didn’t have to get so scary when their digimon defeated the bad guys, so why do you have to be the scary one?”

“Megan, please listen to your partner,” Cap said, trying to calm the girl down.

“No… no, it’s okay…” Dorumon said as his ears drooped and he lowered his head, “I got carried away… and I’m sorry Megan… can I give you a ride back to the base?”

Megan then looked at her partner, her hazel eyes filled with tears. “No… I- I want to go back with Cap.”

“As you wish…” Dorumon said, as Cap, feeling bad for the digimon walked back with both of them to the Resistance base in silence. With the girl in his arms the whole time, and refusing to look at her partner, the super soldier wasn’t sure how to get them to make up. In fact, he understood clearly that Dorumon was just trying to protect Megan, but ended up giving into its rage and more animalistic nature when it digivolved from a nearly dead state. Ogremon would have killed him, and as Cap had done the same in the past, it was only when there was no other choice. He wasn’t sure if there was a choice to let them go in this situation, but Cap did know that if it weren’t for Dorumon’s persistence, Megan might not have come back with them at all.

~~000~~

In time, they three had managed to make it to the base, and entered the throne room where the party was being thrown. They were met with happy digimon, music playing from the body of a robotic, red and blue, beetle looking digimon as well as vocals being given by a weird, red, kind of draconic looking digimon with a microphone. In fact, just about everyone there, except Sheena and Percy were having a blast, as Cap noticed the two kids partners roaming about.

It was then however, they were greeted by Tony.

“It’s about time you got back.” he said with a grin before noticing that none of the three that showed up looked too happy. Especially since Megan looked pretty frightened, and her digimon partner looked like it had been chastized over pissing the carpet like the dog it sort of resembled. “Okay, what happened?”

Cap said nothing at first, setting Megan down and pointing her towards the in-training digimon that showed up from the Primary Village. “Megan, why don’t you go see how they’re doing, alright?”

“O-Okay.” the little girl said, before heading towards them and started giggling as a pink, slimy digimon tickled her hand. While she was busy and out of hearing range of the two adults and her partner, Cap’s expression became a bit grim as he explained what had happened to Tony. Once the story was finished, the genius was rather unamused as he looked down at Dorumon.

“You know, I knew you were kind of rough when you bit me back at the factory,” Tony said, “but did you really want to scare the kid?”

“No!” Dorumon said, “I never wanted to do that to her… I was just so angry at Ogremon and the Goblimon working at him, and so determined to keep Megan safe from them, that well… I lost control.”

“Then maybe you better go apologize and explain that to her.” Tony said, “And also to me for what you did in the factory!”

Dorumon was silent for a moment, before ignoring Tony’s second request as it walked over to Megan. The girl had picked up a small pink digimon with an X mark on its head that extended into its ears, and cute little fangs and seeing Dorumon caused her to hold the little digimon close. Of course, Dorumon then let out a small whine and gave his partner a sad look as it gently butted his head against her arm and licked her cheek to show he was sorry about before. However, before Megan could say anything though, the seemingly healthy digimon then froze for a moment before growling in pain and falling to the floor, cringing as it tried its best to keep a would it had gotten closed after having had to work quite hard to show he was fine after the battle. And also to keep his partner from freaking out again.

Unfortunately, Megan then screamed, causing the party to stop and see the fallen digimon, and even Cap was surprised it had managed to hide how badly hurt he really was while Tony looked on with worry as Dorumon’s body then began to give off tiny bits of light, just like Murmukusmon had done before it died back on Earth.

“Megan…” Dorumon then grunted, feeling its life fading as his partner and the little digimon she held in her arms knelt tried to keep her partner comfortable, “Sorry…”

“Dorumon?” Megan said, “Dorumon, don’t you die on me! Please!”

Dorumon simply closed his eyes and smiled, waiting to just turn back into an egg as everyone present looked on with worry, except for Kudamon, who only watched it indifference for now.

“He won’t have to if we have anything to say about it!”

Megan then blinked, as did everyone else when they saw the three Cutemon run to the rescue to the dying Dorumon, and used their tiny arms to create a healing light that managed to stabilize him enough for the digimon to be healed. In fact, it wasn’t long before the wound closed up and Dorumon opened his eyes, just as surprised, if not more so, than everyone else at the Cutemon trio’s sudden assistance, before noticing that they had the light of hope returned to their eyes. As for the digimon that Megan had held onto, Tokomon-X hopped onto Dorumon’s back and snuggled the purple fur that was there, happy to see the girl’s partner alive and well.

Megan however, hugged Dorumon’s neck, crying as she spoke to him again. “Don’t you ever scare me like that again Dorumon!”

“S-sorry!” Dorumon said, blushing for a moment before smiling and nuzzling the little girl once the Cutemon moved away.

“That, was a close one.” Tony then said as everyone else at the party were relieved they wouldn’t have a death there after all, “I may not like the thing, but Steve, you have to admit he’s kind of stubborn when it comes to the ones he cares about.”

“Yeah…” Steve said a bit blankly, his mind having wandered off to when his partner Bucky had supposedly died trying to stop Baron Zemo’s attack. Of course, it was later revealed that his old partner lost an arm and was frozen right as he died, while Cap was frozen alive, but at the moment, Cap was more than happy to know that Megan wouldn’t lose a loyal friend like he did in the past.

“Hey, Steve?” Tony then said, getting the super soldier’s attention as he waved his hand in front of Cap’s face, “You okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine.” Cap said, “We have party to have fun in after all, right?”

“Yeah,” Tony said, “So, you going to stand around, or are we going to have fun?”

And so, the party continued, All the Digi-Knights but Sheena and Percy, who were still resting in their rooms, had fun with their partners. Vukumon of course, started to sing to one of the songs the beetle robot, Ballistamon had been playing, much to the chagrin of the red dragon, Shoutmon. As it turned out, the lavender falcon digimon had a pretty good voice for a normally screeching bird of prey like it resembled, and even Shoutmon got in on it during a duet.

Meanwhile, Beezlemon and Mervamon had snuck away from the party, deciding to have a little chat about what Beezlemon said about liking her a lot earlier that day. The Resistance leader growing quite awkward as he tried to explain how he felt, only for Mervamon to shut him up with a kiss.

Unfortunately, that was the last thing he remembered as shortly afterward, the ex-demon lord crashed to the floor, a smile on his face and his mask actually shifted a bit to show a little bit more of the face that was under it, something that Tony wished he hadn’t seen when he went to check on the rather loud “Thud” that he heard.

~~000~~

Of course, while everyone else was having fun, and Sheena was fast asleep, Percy had just woken up as his fever broke, seeing Valkyrimon watching over him.

“Where’s Kudamon?” he then asked, immediately noticing his partner was missing.

“He’s at the party that the rest of the resistance is having to try and cheer up the Cutemon, which I’d really like to succeed since I could use their help in the Infirmary.” the Resistance medic then said, causing Percy to sit up.

“Well, I’m going!” he then said, “I feel fine now, Doc.”

“Oh no you don’t.” Valkyrimon said, reaching for her sword, “You’re resting until your fully recovered young man. I am not going to let you have a relapse, or pass your sickness onto anyone else if it turns out your contagious.”

Not wanting to risk the doctor’s wrath, Percy silently complied, and wondered how his partner was doing.

~~000~~

Back at the Party, Kudamon had been watching Dorumon’s little show-stopper, and while he didn’t seem to react outwardly, inwardly he remembered his days as the Royal Knight, Sleipmon. Specifically, the day Alphamon and his brother fought to the death. Of course, while the Knight did fall onto his own blade after realizing that DexDorugoramon had in fact been his missing brother corrupted by the program Yggdrasil. While the story was mostly well-known in the present, even if the name of the true villain was usually forgotten, there was still one detail that Kudamon had left out in his own past life.

He had been there too, as Sleipmon, and he had watched the battle while injured by the fiend before Alphamon saved him. He watched the two brothers reconcile as Alphamon ended both Dorugoramon and his own life, and started dissolving for the usual data recycling that followed. But one thing that Sleipmon would never forget about that day, even now as a Kudamon, were the last words Alphamon had said.

_Brother, let’s hope that next time, we don’t have to fight again. I’m sorry, I couldn’t save you from Yggdrasil’s corruption, and that I let myself be fooled by that monster. I want us to work together, as brothers should, and… maybe things will be as they used to be, between us._

It was at that moment that Candlemon hopped up to Kudamon, Tandy busy making sure there were enough snacks and treats for everyone.

“Hey,” Candlemon then said, “Do… you remember the past too? Before Mastemon saved us from Yggdrasil?”

“I take it you do as well?” Kudamon then said, “Were you a knight too, like I, and Dorumon?”

“Yeah.” the Candle said, before chomping on a piece of fruit, “I was Dynasmon. Crusadermon’s…”

“I’m aware who you were… trust me, everyone knows about the relationship between Dynasmon and Crusadermon.” Kudamon then said, slightly annoyed as Candlemon grumbled.

“Uh, right.” Candlemon then said, blushing a bit a his flame grew brighter. “You outlasted me before our current situation, how did she take my death after, you know, the Witchelny Wars?”

“She left.” Kudamon said, “She couldn’t handle being one of the Royal Knights when your digi-egg never showed up at the Primary Village, just like Alphamon’s, Belphemon’s, or the eggs of the other digimon who became the Digi-knights partners and protectors.”

“But, I only remember three digimon that didn’t go back to be reborn.” Candlemon said, “Alphamon, , and the Chessmon King and Queen. With me that makes four. I guess I got to miss out on the Seven Great Demon Lords.”

“After your death, TigerVespamon died only 30 years ago, then Belphemon was executed and its data vanished five years ago, as did the data signature of Owryumon. Followed by myself, that makes eight. This bothered me, as that means that Vukumon is the only one that neither I, nor it seems any other digimon seems to recognize, nor is there any historical information relating to the time before Yggdrasil was rebooted by Alphamon.” Kudamon then said, looking at the lavender falcon having a blast.

“By the way old friend,” Candlemon then said, “How exactly did you die?”

“I don’t want to talk about it.” Kudamon said, “All I will say, is that I deserved it.”

With that said, the bullet weasel walked off, leaving behind one very confused candle as he watched his old friend make his way to Dorumon to chat a bit, most likely about old times.

“Sleipmon,” Candlemon then said, “What did you do?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well. This chapter is just a rollercoaster ain't it? Especially how Megan handled her partner's first battle at champion level... and the near death later at the party.
> 
> Now, you may have noticed that there are few references to the only digimon movie lacking humans: X-Evolution. From Alphamon and his "brother", to Tokomon X's appearance, and hell, even how Alphamon bit the dust in the end are all referencing that one movie.
> 
> Why? Well, because I kind of liked how the plot worked for that movie, and decided to incorporate it into the fic's mythos. Also, Tokomon X will make more appearances in the fic after this, as a sort of fuzzy buddy for Dorumon. Mainly because well, the relationship between those two characters in the movie was cute. 
> 
> Next, yes I slipped Shoutmon and Ballistamon into this fic. Also, yes Vukumon may have swiped Shoutmon's mic when she got up to sing. And yes, Vukumon's singing ability may just be hinting at her Mega Form.
> 
> Finally, we see that Candlemon was originally Dynasmon, had a relationship with Crusadermon, and that Kudamon was indeed Sleipmon. Unfortunately, we don't learn what Kudamon did before dying until the next arc.
> 
> So yeah, lots of feels here. At least, I hope I gave you, the readers feels.


	17. Surprises Aplenty at Whamon Cove!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A message leads to an unexpected meeting...

Beezlemon set down the report he recieved from EmperorGreymon, the armored digimon that led the Grey Squadron- a group in the resistance made up of various types of Greymon- being quite cryptic. As Beezlemon once had a rivalry with the digimon, he knew that if the dragon man was getting cryptic, then it was most likely not going to end well somehow for any digimon.

Doing his best not to look like he was dreading the worst, he covered his eyes as the flash accompanying a return to base through a Gate Disk showed up, and faded to reveal not only EmperorGreymon, but a few other digimon as well: the pudgy Greymon, the more athletic looking GeoGreymon, the jet winged and cannon toting Rize Greymon, and finally the golden armored warrior, VictoryGreymon who’s large sword rested comfortably on his shoulder.

“So,” Beezlemon then said, deciding to get straight to the point. “What’s this I hear about a surprise you think I’d like EmperorGreymon?”

The red armored leader of Grey Squadron simply chuckled and crossed his arms before he answered. “The D-Backers helped us.”

Beezlemon was stunned, and just stared at the digimon that had just returned. He remembered the battle to protect Mastemon, and who all had been lost, including the D-Backers.

“You’re kidding.” he said, “I saw Tactimon-”

“It’s true.” said a new voice, one actually quite familiar to Beezlemon as he watched a yellow, anthropomorphic fox walk out from behind the Grey Squadron Leader, her blue eyes piercing into the Resistance Leader’s three red ones as she crossed her arms which were protected by the purple cloth sleeves she had always worn.

“Renamon?” Beezlemon then said, “But…”

“I know full well what happened, as do the others.” Renamon then said calmly, “However, I am here to deliver a message to the Digital Knights. Please, bring them here.”

All Beezlemon could do, was comply.

~~000~~

“So, what’s going on?” Scott asked as he entered the throne room with the other kids, as well as Mervamon, Tony Stark, and Captain America.

“We’re about to find out, I think.” said Tony, noticing the new arrivals, and how big some of them seemed compared to Beezlemon, who was pretty tall himself.

“Renamon?!” Mervamon then said, running over to pick up the yellow digimon in a hug, “I can’t believe you’re here! Is, is this really you?”

“It’s me Minervamon!” Renamon said, laughing as she hugged her old friend back, “Though, you certainly changed since the battle.”

“Yeah, and the name’s Mervamon now.” said the warrior woman, while Beezlemon cleared his throat.

“So, that message?” he said, causing the fox to become quite serious and nod. Reaching into her sleeves, the digimon pulled out a small projector, and clicked a button on it. As it powered up, it then sent out a hologram depicting a woman with magenta hair, a pink and black costume and mask, and lots of thin diamonds lining it. As the kids, and the heroes stared in surprise to see another human, even it was an image, Sheena seemed to be the most surprised out of all of them.

“This, is Diamondback.” the message then began, “I know, I know, I should be dead after what happened, and I don’t even know how I came back this time, but I’d just like to say that the D-Backers are ready to help the Resistance. Sure, we’ve been helping the Grey Squadron with their little mission for Beezlemon, but word’s started to spread that the Digi-Knights are in town. So, being in the neighborhood, I’ve sent Renamon back with the boys to deliver this message, and also to let you guys know that I have a request. I want a small group from the resistance to head down to the last Facility, on Whamon Cove. There, I’ll meet with one higher up member of the Resistance, and two Knights and their partners, so we can give that mirrored son of a gun Mercurymon one hell of a message before we go to his base on top of Infinity Mountain, and kick his shiny metal ass of the island!”

With that, the message ended, and while the kids seemed excited, both Cap and Tony seemed uneasy about the situation.

“How can we trust her?” Captain America then said, while Beezlemon spoke up.

“I’ve only worked with her once, but Diamondback is quite reliable, and has earned the trust of plenty of digimon.” the Resistance leader then said, “Gallantmon was also close to her before he vanished from the Digital World, and since the D-Backers have been helping Grey Squadron, I believe it may be legitimate.”

“Beezlemon,” Sheena then said, looking quite determined, “I want to go on this mission. I mean, I just saw proof my mom’s alive and well, I want to be there to make sure it’s actually her.”

The whole room was silent, all but Tony looking surprised at Sheena’s statement, but even he became surprised to hear the next volunteer.

“I’m going too.” said Jean Winters as she stepped forward.

“What?” Tina then said as she looked at the red headed girl, “Jean, why do you want to go?”

“We go and there’s trouble, I protect Sheena. We survive, we become friends when we get home.” was all Jean said, causing the raven-haired girl to just nod, finding that her friend did have a point, especially about them possibly becoming friends when they returned to Earth. After all, when a group of kids find themselves going on adventures, bonds did tend to get formed.

“Well, that covers the Digi-Knights….” Beezlemon then said, “So, who else wants to go?”

“I will.” Mervamon then said, causing the resistance leader to look quite worried. “Don’t look at me like that. Valkyrimon cleared me for active duty this morning, I’ll be fine.”

“Right…” Beezlemon then said, blushing a bit to no one’s surprise by now. In fact, Renamon herself seemed annoyed as if she could see that Beezlemon hadn’t told Mervamon how he felt towards her. The fox however, said nothing as Beezlemon continued to speak.

“Everyone, you’re dismissed. Those going on the mission are to go get ready. Grey Squadron, go see Valkyrimon for a physcial and then see Wisemon to report in.”

“But, what happened to Myotismon?” asked Greymon.

“He’s been removed from his post for trying to harm a few rookies.” Beezlemon then said, causing the big, and pudgy dinosaur to nod in understanding. Immediately afterward, all but Cap and Tony left, the two heroes having a few questions for Beezlemon, who still looked a bit confused about something.

“What’s wrong?” Cap asked, drawing the Resistance leader out of his thoughts.

“Just trying to figure out how Diamondback was able to return… especially since she was killed during the Coup, and while I can understand the rest of her team coming back, the fact that humans don’t have digi-cores to allow rebirth is bugging me.” Beezlemon then said, causing Tony to shrug.

“Weird thing about Earth,” the genius then said, “Is that for some people, Death’s cheap. So, something similar may have kicked in here.”

“Exactly, how long has Diamondback been here?” Cap then said, causing Beezlemon to sigh.

“From what I’ve been told by Gallantmon? A decade. Some digimon found her lost and confused, and with a species of mushroom in her mouth that’s been known to make digimon forget things. Apparently humans aren’t immune either, as she didn’t even know anything other than that she was called Diamondback.” Beezlemon began, “So, after getting the woman accustomed to the digital world, Mastemon let her serve in the Royal guard, and Diamondback started her own team, the D-Backers.”

“So, she might not remember her own daughter?” Tony then said, while Cap seemed pretty worried about Sheena.

“I’m really not sure.” Beezlemon then admitted with concern, “Gallantmon went on to tell me that one day, she was found crying in her chambers and instead of explaining what happened, went to Mastemon and begged the digital queen to let her contact Earth. This was… five years ago I believe, while I was still a Demon Lord. Mastemon allowed it, and Gallantmon accompanied her to the device that we used to contact Earth when searching for the Digital Knights recently.”

“Any idea who she called?” Cap then asked, wondering if the woman got her memories back after all.

“Gallantmon wouldn’t say, claiming that it was her business alone. All he did tell me though, was when she was finished, Diamondback came out and looked a bit better.”

“Maybe it was to contact her family?” Cap then suggested, “If she did get her memories back somehow, it would make sense that she’d contact them to know what happened.”

“Yeah, but Sheena told me her parents both worked for SHIELD.” Tony then said, getting a rather confused look from Cap, “So, why didn’t she contact them first?”

Beezlemon only shrugged, while Cap decided to speak up again.

“Tony, did you know about Sheena’s mother already?” he asked, but Tony simply grinned and started leaving the throne room.

“Oh, sorry, I gotta go.” he said as he headed towards the door, “Wisemon wanted to talk to me about something, so I probably wasted enough time by now.”

“Tony!” Cap shouted, but groaned as the man had already left. “I can’t believe he’s been keeping secrets again.”

“Anything else, Captain Rogers?” Beezlemon then said, starting to look a bit tired about all this.

“I’d like to go with them.” Cap then said, “The girls and Mervamon could end up needing the extra help, and in the process, I could get answers about Diamondback’s motivations, just in case this is all a trap.”

“Alright.” Beezlemon then said, “Go get ready and meet Mervamon and Renamon at the entrance to the ruins in an hour.”

Once the supersoldier was gone however, Beezlemon then clicked a button on the side of his throne and sighed as it became a very fancy recliner.

“Maybe now I can get some sleep. I was worried they’d never leave.”

~~000~~

The trip to Whamon Cove was thankfully not as long as the trek to the Factory before. Partly because the beach was closer to the base, and also because there were less members of the party to help when it came to getting past any obstructions, like fallen logs that needed to be climbed over, or gaps that needed to be crossed. As Captain America asked about where they were headed, he noticed that both Mervamon and Renamon seemed to find the location to be a good vacation spot, especially for anyone who liked watching for Whamon, Dolphmon and other sea digimon as well. The two apparently old friends then started giggling as they talked about an incident involving a mission there where Beezlemon tried to wrestle with something called a Plesiomon- only to be attacked by another digimon guardsman named Dominimon, who apparently had a major rivalry with the former Demon lord. Of course, as far as Cap could gather from the story, while Mervamon, Beezlemon and apparently Renamon were once trainees of Gallantmon, they had rivals trained by another Royal Knight named Craniamon. This rival team involved the aforementioned Dominimon, along with Lekismon and ChoHakkaimon.

While Cap wasn’t sure if he wanted to meet these digimon, or if they were still around at all, he couldn’t help but laugh when he heard that the fight between the rivals ended with Beezlemon actually hitting Dominimon with Plesiomon being used as a club. Soon after he heard the story, the group finally made it to Whamon cove, and while Renamon and Mervamon didn’t seem too awestruck by the lovely view of the beach, the rest of the group couldn’t help but stare in awe as they could spot all sorts of aquatic digimon swimming by, as well as a school of multi-colored fish jump up and fly over the water.

“Amazing…” Cap then said, before clearing his throat and looking around to see Sheena and Jean both look at him with a smirk. “Er… but let’s not get distracted. We have a meeting to get to after all.”

“And a barrier to finally get rid of.” Vukumon then added, only for the group to be whistled at. Turning towards the water, they soon spotted the woman from the hologram walk towards them, just as an angelic woman in green armor landed beside her.

“Hello everyone.” said Diamondback, before noticing Sheena and smiling. “Twinklestar! Is that really you?”

“Hi mom!” Sheena then said, blushing as everyone around her did their best to not laugh at the nickname. Of course, Cap couldn’t even bring himself to laugh as he saw mother and daughter reunite.

“Oh, sweetie, it’s so good to see you again!” Diamondback said as she hugged her daughter, “I’m sorry I couldn’t be there for you, but look how big you’ve grown! Also, you have been staying out of trouble I hope? Your father and I definitely wouldn’t like it if you decided to give villainy a try?”

“Don’t worry, I’ve been staying out of trouble as best as I can, and it’s good to see you too mom!” Sheena said, nearly crying tears of joy while the armored angel smiled and introduced herself.

“A pleasure to meet you again, Minervamon I see you have changed a lot since the coup. As it is also a pleasure to meet the other digital knight to come on this mission… and yet another human?” she said, smiling at Cap, “In any case, I am Ophanimon, I watched you leave the base, just to make sure Renamon was to safely arrive, and I do apologize for trailing you under Diamondback’s orders.”

“It’s okay Ophanimon.” Mervamon said, while Cap became a little nervous that he failed to notice they were followed, or that the base had been discovered, “Also, as I told Renamon, my name is Mervamon now. It’s also good to see you again Ophanimon, Seraphimon seemed pretty sad to learn what happened in the battle.”

“Oh… Seraphimon’s with the resistance? That’s a relief, I was worried he was Mercurymon’s prisoner.” Ophanimon then said, Cap immediatly guessing there was something between them from the way she blushed. While the rest of her face was covered by a helmet, he had to admit that despite being called “Digital Monsters” they seemed pretty human at times.

“A pleasure to meet you as well, Lady Ophanimon.” Black PawnChessmon then said, trying to get things back on track, “I, and my partner Lady Jean are willing to help you in your mission, as are Sheena and her partner, Vukumon.”

“Vukumon?” Ophanimon then asked, before noticing the lavender falcon as she preened herself while sitting on Cap’s shoulder. As she stared for a moment, she then smiled and nodded towards the little, black armored soldier. In fact, the meeting so far seemed to be pretty basic, despite Sheena and Diamondback having a moment.

But then, Renamon spoke up.

“Rachel- I mean, Diamondback.” the digimon then said, apparently knowing the woman’s real name but remembered that they were in fact, not alone. “Where is Blastmon?”

This question caused Diamondback to snap out of the wonderful feeling of being back with her daughter, and looked at the yellow fox. As she stood up and stretched a bit, she looked around and immediately groaned.

“Looks like Blastmon got impatient. Again.” the superheroine then said, “And just like always, he’ll run into trouble and run back here in 3, 2, 1…”

A loud scream was heard then, and the group got ready to fight as they saw a large digimon with a cape heading towards them, its body made of crystal and its rocky arms covered in gems.

“Diamondback we have a problem!” it cried, “Mercurymon’s managed to get a Royal Knight on his side!”

“Oh you have got to be kidding me!” Diamondback then said, grabbing a couple of crystals off her belt as Sheena and Jean digivolved their partners to Kukumon and Black KnightChessmon, “A Royal Knight? Now that’s just playing dirty, Mercuryboy.”

Cap readied his shield, just as Mervamon drew her very, very large sword and held it in one hand while the snake arm Medullia hissed and glared. Both of them fully prepared for battle as Ophanimon took off with lance and shield in hand, while Renamon raised her claws and took on a tiger stance.

Then, the knight came into view: a pink armored, feminine warrior with a large gauntlet on one hand, and a gold ring on the other. She moved through the air with ease, the gold ribbons connected to her torso acting as wings. Of course, the appearance of the knight did not seem to be one the more experienced Digimon expected, as Mervamon actually seemed quite surprised, while Diamondback looked confused.

“Never seen that one before.” the woman then said, “Ophanimon, who is that?”

“That… that’s Crusadermon.” The angel then said, “She hasn’t been seen since Dynasmon’s sacrifice to end the Witchelny War forty five years ago, but I thought she was just… gone.”

“Well, she’s here now!” Sheena then said, “Let’s take her on mom!”

“Sure thing sweetie!” Diamondback said, just as Blastmon passed them, turned, and prepared to fight. With the group fully ready, they then charged, Diamondback and Captain America working as a team, throwing crystals and shield, while the digimon protected the kids as they fought back as well.

“Destroy all threats.” Crusadermon then said blankly as she shielded herself from the explosive crystals thrown by Diamond Back, as well as the barrage of diamonds from Renamon and Blastmon. Ophanimon also fired ten crystals that were summoned between her hands, before diving down to attack Crusadermon with her lance. The pink Royal Knight managed to bear it, even with jabs from Black KnightChessmon’s dart, and Kukumon’s punches following soon after. The knight herself however, responded with whirlwinds created by the giant gauntlet on her arm, the ribbons spinning and taking an attack from Mervamon’s sword, and also punching back when she needed to.

Despite the battle being long, the fact the Royal Knight started to waver and soon fall to the ground caused Cap to call a stop to the brawl.

“Hold on, we need to take her in alive.” Cap then said, as Crusadermon tried to stand and keep on fighting.

“Protect. Barrier Facility.” she said as she struggled to stand, “Follow… Mercurymon’s orders.”

Noticing the robotic behavior from the knight, the digimon that pulled back wondered what exactly the mirrored menace had done to Crusadermon, with the idea of her having somehow been brainwashed being a pretty big possibility. Of course, before anyone could say anything, Sheena’s and Jean’s watches started to vibrate, causing the girls to look down and see a new message on the screen.

“Purification unlocked and ready to use. Please tap screen to Purify corrupted Data.”

Not sure what else to do, the two girls simply shrugged and tapped the screen. This was followed by two lights- a golden one coming from Sheena and a blue one coming from Jean, to head towards the Royal Knight and surround her. This ended up causing Crusadermon to scream and clutch her head as a dark aura appeared around the warrior, the purification process apparently being painful as the shadow fought against the kids’ power. Despite the struggle though, the shadow soon faded, and the lights vanished as Crusadermon then relaxed and looked around.

“What… what happened?” she said, “This doesn’t look like Infinity Mountain.”

“Well, the short version is this.” Diamondback then said. “Mercurymon captured you, turned you into a servant and stuck you here to guard the last place keeping his barrier around Infinity Mountain active. My daughter and her friend, two Digi-Knights, used their fancy watches to fix you up after we kicked your butt. So, you can either join the resistance and help us kick Mercurymon’s shiny metal ass off the island, or you can go hide. Either way, I plan on destroying that building keeping the barrier up.”

“I… I see…” Crusadermon said, “Thank you. Please… just, do what you have to.”

“Thanks Rosie.” Diamondback then said, before seeing Sheena’s partner go back to Rookie level, and smiled at her daughter. “Sheena, want to help me out?”

“You bet!” Sheena then said with a grin.

“Alright then.” Diamondback said with a nod, before turning to the others, “Ophanimon, Blastmon, I need the two of you stay with Crusadermon and Captain America and Mervamon in case there’s trouble. Jean, you stick around too, just in case Crusadermon needs another purification while me and my daughter have some bonding to do. Renamon? You’re with us.”

“Yes ma’am” Everyone else said while Cap rejoined the group to make sure the weakened Crusadermon didn’t do anything that could have caused her to die while mother and daughter headed down the beach to a rather sinister looking building.

~~000~~

Sometime later, Diamondback and Sheena came out of the facility, the building blown to bits once they were half way down the beach with their digimon partners. The two were happy and catching up a bit about Sheena’s life on earth as well as her mother’s adventures in the Digital World, and had actually expected to return to the rest of the group hoping to go back to the base without any more problems.

Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case as they soon found everyone on the ground, weakened and scratched up as Mercurymon hovered above them, standing on the deck of a giant, flying disk. To make matters worse, Jean was held captive just below it, the red headed girl banging against a bubble of energy keeping her below the villain’s transport.

“Well, well, it seems I might have lost a puppet and my barrier, but I’ve managed to capture myself a Knight.” he said before laughing evilly, “I’ll let you live, for now, but I will be taking my prisoner back to Infinity Mountain.”

“Let her go you sonuvabitch!” Diamondback shouted, only for Mercurymon to smile.

“Oh, don’t worry, I’ll let her go… if the Knight of Hope comes to face me in my castle.” Mercurymon then said, “They have three days to consider my offer. If Seraphimon’s little hero doesn’t show up after that, I will make sure this knight here has a nightmare of a time as my new guinea pig!”

“You… you monster…” Black PawnChessmon then said, getting up and running along the beach as the villain flew away with his prize. “LADY JEAN! LADY JEAN! Give her back Mercurymon! GIVE HER BACK!”

Sheena could only stand there, horrified as she watched little soldier collapse and start crying. Cap then picked it up in his arms, and a sad and miserable look showed on the faces of those the girl, and her mother left behind to wait for them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, like Marcus Damon, Sheena has learned her mom was in the Digital World for the past decade. Unlike Marcus (thankfully) she does not have to punch out her mom because said mom is possessed by Yggdrasil while Diamondback's spirit is inside her digimon partner Renamon. 
> 
> Because Digimon's God Yggdrasil was punched out by a hot blooded 14 year old boy already, and being punched out by a 13 year old girl who can make an EMP from a flashlight would be a very low blow to their pride.
> 
> Also, this chapter introduces the D-Watch's ability to purify digimon, through the power of Crest Lasers. I got this idea from remembering that in season one of Digimon, the digivices do have some ability to repel evil, as well as create explosion creating force fields. Not sure if the force field will come into play in the fic yet though. As for Crusadermon? While she was messed with like Apemon was, she was actually the second digimon Mercurymon manipulated with his experiments before settling for the Hope Drainer in converting minions. 
> 
> Now, as you see... this chapter ends badly, and the original idea would have been Megan being kidnapped instead of Jean. however, I decided that Megan had enough trauma for a while, and went with the Knight of Friendship instead. 
> 
> Don't worry folks, Jean won't be captured long, and Mercurymon is going to soon learn that he picked the wrong person to capture. As for why he didn't recognize Sheena as the Knight of Hope? He just knows the crests have been retrieved. He doesn't know which kid has them, and he doesn't even know that much about any of the kids, if he knows anything at all about them other than they're in his domain. 
> 
> Dude was too busy laughing maniacally and being a mad scientist in his lab to care. 
> 
> Finally, if you imagined Jean's kidnapping being a lot like something from a few videogames, than that's what I was going for. 
> 
> Next chapter? We'll see what the kidnapping causes in the Resistance, and also what happens when Crusadermon pretty much joins the heroes.


	18. Planning and a Reunion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After Jean's capture, a rescue is planned. Meanwhile, Crusadermon meets Tandy, and Scott admits some things to Percy that may force a major change...

As the party returned to base, their faces grim over the loss of Jean, they were met with the rest of the Digi-Knights, Beezlemon, and Tony Stark. All could see that something was immediately off, and it was only Scott who asked the obvious question.

“Where’s my sister?”

Sheena bit her lip as she looked at the red headed boy, and sighed. “Scott, I’m sorry…”

“What happened?” Scott then said, getting a bit angry, “Sheena, tell me what happened to Jean!”

“Mercurymon surprised us while Sheena and Diamondback were destroying the barrier facility.” Cap then said, holding Jean’s partner, who now looked pretty weak and sickly despite being a black tin soldier, “He reflected whatever we threw at him right back at us, and captured Jean. I’m sorry Scott, but, I promise we will get her back. Mercurymon said he wanted to face The Knight of Hope alone in three days. If Sheena wins, we should be able to get your sister back safely.”

“Then let me go instead!” Scott then shouted, “He might not have realized the Knight of Hope was there on the beach, right? We… we could trick him, and I could fight him in Sheena’s place!”

“No Scott!” Tony then said, “As much as I like your plan, Mercurymon might check to see if you’re the right kid. He sees that we’re trying to fool him, there’s no telling what he’ll end up doing to both of you!”

“He’s right Scott.” Sheena then said, “We still have three days to plan, so if Mercurymon wants to fight me and Vukumon, then he’ll get a fight alright, and I’ll make sure we’re ready for him.”

“Fine!” Scott then said, “Just, just use Sheena then!” The red-headed boy then ran off, with Percy following after him in silence. Soon, Beezlemon sent off the rest of the kids, as well as everyone else but Tony, Diamondback, Mervamon, Captain America, and Sheena who followed the leader of the resistance into the war room to plan. Once there however, they sat down and immediately started getting to work.

“Okay, from what I remember from Mercurymon’s little experiment on me,” Tony then said, “He’ll most likely use his “Dark Reflections” to conjure up a shadow version of you to try and drain your hope Sheena. I’m not sure how to counter it, but that is the most important part of our strategy.”

“During the battle,” Cap then said, “I noticed that he can also reflect any attacks shown in his mirror shields back at other opponents as well. Perhaps, if those were broken, Sheena and her partner can have an easier time of defeating him.”

“Agreed.” Mervamon said, “Those shields get destroyed, then she’ll have a chance.”

“Well, I think I can help with that.” Diamondback then said with a smile as she slipped a crystal from her belt. “I happen to have a few of these beauties filled with acid, so a splash of the stuff, and not only will Mercurymon lose his defenses and offenses, but my little girl can avoid a bit of bad luck as well.”

“Good plan Diamondback.” Cap then said with a smile, “I can see why SHIELD let you join them.”

“Call me Rachel, handsome.” the superherione said, “Though, I really joined after Sheena’s father proposed during a bank robbery.”

“Mom!” Sheena then said, “Do you have to hit on Steve?”

“Oh come on sweetie, I ain’t seen a human man in a decade, can you blame me for flirting a little?” said the girl’s mother, causing Cap to blush and Tony to snicker. “Anyway, I can lend Sheena some of them to take with her.”

“Well…” Sheena then spoke up, “Tony and I have been making more crystals based off of the three I brought with me from Earth in my backpack.”

“Sheena Rikki Barnes,” her mother then said after a moment- definitely not happy to hear this information, “Where exactly, did you get your hands on some of my tools? Don’t you know how dangerous those are? Why did you even have them on you anyway?!”

“Your stuff in dad’s room, I only took one of each type, I know how dangerous they are and read the instructions you wrote to make sure I didn’t kill myself first, and it was to use in case I ran into a supervillain on the way home, especially someone from the Serpent Society who wasn’t Aunt Cleo, Aunt Tanya or Uncle Seth.” Sheena then said, causing her mother to look impressed and embarrassed at the same time.

“Okay, I’ll admit you were smart to do that for the sake of caution,” Diamondback then said, “But your father’s still going to ground you when we get back to earth. But only if we survive that long. I mean, what if you ran into Doctor Doom with them on you?!”

“Uh… about that…” Sheena then said before giving a nervous laugh, the other two superheroes looking on in curiosity while also sort of thankful they weren’t parents at the moment, while the Digimon just looked confused. “I met Dr. Doom once before I got the idea to borrow your crystals…but only because he dropped his wallet and I decided to give it back to him.”

“As nice as that was Sweetheart,” Diamondback then said, “you should have stayed with your father! I mean, he has some toys of his own, but if Dr. Doom had decided to hurt you-”

“Dad was on an errand, a fight broke out between Doom and the Fantastic Four, and the heroes actually waited to make sure I was back in the shop after I gave the wallet back. Besides, Doom said he’d pay me back one day for my good deed.” Sheena then said, before giving a shrug.

“Sheena… has a favor from Doom.” Tony then said, impressed and sort of frightened at the same time, “And from how she’s acting, he hasn’t paid it back yet.”

“Let’s just hope she doesn’t become a villain.” Cap then said, before Beezlemon cleared his throat.

“Can we get back to the problem at hand?” said the former demon lord, “You know, Mercurymon and deleting his Shiny Metal Ass before rescuing Jean?”

With the distraction put aside, the group then got back to planning their assault, and Sheena’s victory.

~~000~~

Meanwhile, Crusadermon had to report Wisemon for an examination of her digicore to see if anything was left behind by Mercurymon. Though all the mysterious hooded digimon could find was some degraded code relating to her previous brainwashing, that was swiftly deleted in case some digimon decided to try and repair and reactivate it. Once that was done however, and the probing metal legs were retracted into the book bound digimon’s body, he then proceeded to take the Royal Knight on a tour of the Resistance base.

As they were going around the Primary Village, they had a run in with Tandy Johnson and her partner, Candlemon. The dark skinned girl was busy helping Yasyamon and Tobucatmon with feeding the baby digimon, and was currently bottle feeding a small cube shaped digimon with a screen for a face. As for her partner, Candlemon was currently making different shapes with his flames, as if he was using magic- despite being outside of his champion form, Wizardmon, when they noticed that they had company.

“Oh, hi there, I’m Tandy Johnson.” Tandy then said to the pink Knight with a smile, the little digimon, Monimon, showing its joy by displaying “=D”, since apparently it could show how it felt through emoticons. As cute as it was, Crusadermon was more focused on the girl’s partner than anything else.

Candlemon on the other hand, while normally raring to go, merely froze as the fiery unicorn he had conjured up to entertain Monimon vanished. In fact, Candlemon seemed oddly shy as he looked away from the pink armored Royal Knight.

“Dynasmon?” Crusadermon finally said, picking Candlemon up by the base and looking him in the eye. “It… It really is you, isn’t it? I’d recognize your little fire trick anywhere!”

“H-Hello Crusadermon…” the candle said, causing Tandy to look quite confused.

“Er, what’s going on?” the Knight of Purity then asked, “Why are you calling Candlemon that?”

“Uh… well…” Candlemon then said, turning a bit pink as Crusadermon spoke up.

“Dy- I mean, Candlemon and I are very old friends, Tandy was it?” Crusadermon said, and getting a nod from the girl to confirm it, “Thank you. We’ve known each other since we were Champion level, and we’ve had plenty of misadventures together. We were rather close partners as Royal Knights as well. But when Dynasmon sacrificed his life to end the war with Witchelny, and he didn’t turn up again at the Primary Village, well… I just couldn’t imagine life in the Knights without him, and retired to Infinity Mountain under Seraphimon’s care.”

“Let me guess, Mercurymon then took over, captured you and turned you into his minion?” Tandy then asked, getting a nod from the pink warrior in affirmation. “Okay…. so what exactly does Dynasmon look like?”

“I can help with that.” Wisemon said, before using his book to project the image of a white armored knight with a dragon-like helm, claws, and tattered wings. Tandy’s eyes then widened in surprised as she accidentally started squeezing Monimon too hard, causing it to begin crying. Realizing what she did, Tandy then loosened her hold on the baby digimon, and calmed it down before apologizing. There were no hard feelings however, and so Crusadermon and Tandy started to chat, the warrior telling stories about her adventures in Candlemon’s past, and Tandy catching Crusadermon up on what her partner had been up to since they met.

Candlemon however, felt like he was having a nightmare.

~~000~~

Elsewhere, Scott and White PawnChessmon were with Jean’s digimon partner, who had become even weaker with her gone and had even managed to degenerate into a small purple digimon with a metal mask and a racoon tail. As it rested with a damp cloth on its body to act as a compress for its fever, Scott’s own partner couldn’t help but feel worried for its own sibling while Scott worried about Jean.

It was then, that Percy came in to the room, leaning on the door frame as he spoke up.

“How bad is it?” he said, getting Scott’s attention.

“Pretty bad.” Scott said, “Valkyrimon told me that being away from Jean is actually weakening her partner. Black’s become a Kapurimon now, an ‘In Training’ digimon according to the doc.”

“So, they apparently get stronger because we’re around our partners then?” Percy said more to himself, before scratching Kudamon’s chin. “How are you holding up though? Still mad?”

“Yeah.” Scott said, “I just don’t get it. Why did Mercurymon issue that challenge, when he failed to see his target was there, on the beach? Does that mean he just doesn’t know what crests we have, and that we’re just kids in the Digital World? Or does he really do know which Knights have what crests, and just didn’t care?”

“Who knows, mate.” Percy said, moving closer to sit down next to Scott. “What I know however, is that if you did go, and got your arse kicked, Mercurymon might have realized you weren’t the right one anyway. After that, he could have done all sorts of experiments on you and Jean. He does sound like a mad scientist based on what we’ve heard about him. The adults are just worried about losing another one of us to him.”

“So, they’re just going to follow his demands and send Sheena in three days?” Scott snapped, “We don’t have time to wait and plan that long!”

“What, you think Jean’s partner’s going to die before time’s up?” Percy asked, looking concerned.

“That too.” Scott said, before looking off to the side. “Listen, back in Utah… Okay on second thought, you remember that old guy I faced to get the Crest of Courage?”

“Yeah?” Percy said, raising an eyebrow, “What about the wanker?”

“Well… close to the end of that year we spent, paranoid he’d get Jean,” Scott said, “My sister got scared. Like, really, really scared. I’m worried that Mercurymon could cause Jean to freak out again, and this time, I won’t be there this time to stop whatever freaky monster that tried to come through back in Utah. I mean, sure I glowed with courage while facing that old coot too, but that wasn’t the first time I well, glowed. In fact, the light I gave off back then seemed to scare off whatever Jean was attracting to her. At least, that’s what I thought five years ago. All I really did then was just swallow my fear when I saw the tentacles come out of the shadows, hug my sister to calm her down, and they just went away.”

“Right…” Percy said flatly, “Maybe you were just dreaming that part.”

Though this came from a boy that was at the moment, still secretly the grandson of Loki when it came to most of the people he was in the Digital World with, as well as a whole lot of digimon, even Percy had found Scott’s little story to be unbelievable. Of course, Percy had some unbelievable things in his life as well, such as his more “unusual” uncles like Sleipnir and as a result, his suspension of disbelief was pretty high.

“Maybe…” Scott said, “But still, I think we should go rescue Jean as soon as possible. If not for her, then at least for Kapurimon’s sake.”

“Right.” Percy then said, and so, with White PawnChessmon left behind to watch Kapurimon, the two boys headed to the War Room.

Once they arrived and kicked the door open, they were met with a few glares from Tony, Mervamon and Diamondback, but Sheena, Cap, and Beezlemon looked curious about what was going on. So, Percy told them about how Jean’s partner was doing, and the theory that being so far from Jean could end up deleting him if she’s not back by the Three Day deadline. Sheena then looked worried, and immediately insisted that they act as soon as possible to save both Jean, and her partner. Despite a bit of protest from Beezlemon saying they might not have a full plan yet, the rest of the War Council agreed with Sheena’s suggestion.

“Very well.” Beezlemon then said, “Tony, Sheena, get to the lab immediately and work on what we’ve figured out so far.”

“Yes sir!” the two then said, and while Tony wasn’t normally the type to take orders, understood that he didn’t have much of an option to fight back, being not only armorless, but also risking a lot of digimon kicking his ass if he had managed to accidentally kill Beezlemon in a fight. Not to mention what Cap would have done in that scenario was not something he’d like to think about. As the two headed out of the room, Cap soon looked rather worried about what little plan they actually had, and started remembering what Bucky had done before the Super Soldier had been frozen alive.

Steve Rogers could only hope that Sheena wouldn’t end up giving up her life in the upcoming battle

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this is the final leg of the first arc. Plans being made to beat the bad guy, a revelation of sorts from Scott that goes ignored by Percy, and then we see the first Mega level revealed among the kids partners.
> 
> In terms of character development, I feel this does it pretty well for Scott and his partner, as well as for Tandy and Candlemon.
> 
> Dynasmon's appearance just being more of a cameo for now, but oh well. Also, why is Candlemon feeling like he's in a nightmare? Well, his ex is chatting it up with his new partner. If you watched the Sarah Jane episode from Tennant's run on Doctor Who, then you know what this means. Combined with the fact that Dynasmon apparently has Jeremiah Gottwald levels of loyalty according to franchise lore... yeah, he's going to be having problems if Tandy and Crusadermon ever argue.
> 
> Now, the thing Scott mentioned about driving off a tentacle monster? Well, originally that wouldn't have happened but then I got the random idea relating to eldritch horrors and well... you'll see the results next chapter. 
> 
> In regards to Diamondback hitting on Cap? That's really just a shout out to the fact that in the comics... Diamondback and Captain America actually used to date. Don't worry though, she's not going to strike up a romantic relationship with Cap in this fic. As for Aunt Cleo, Aunt Tanya and Uncle Seth? Those three are Serpent Society members Asp, Black Mamba and Sidewinder respectively. In the comics, they were good friends with Diamondback, so I just felt it made sense for them to help keep an eye on Sheena as she grows up, out of respect for someone they thought was dead.
> 
> Though on the Doctor Doom thing? If you've been reading the journals, then you'll know that Doom repayed the favor, but Sheena doesn't know it.
> 
> Next time? It's a Showdown!


	19. The Knight of Hope

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The day to face Mercurymon has arrived, and Sheena and her partner face off with the Mirrored Maniac. Of course, Jean seems to have a surprise herself before the battle, and it seems there is something else going on in the Ring of Love...

Sheena Rikki Barnes looked at herself in the mirror as she pulled on the power gauntlets Tony and her worked on last night, before the older genius sent her to bed. She needed to be well rested considering what she had to do today, and after putting on her D-watch and slipping on a bandolier filled with thin, and deadly diamond darts modeled after her mother’s own tools, the pink haired Digital Knight was determined to succeed the mission.

She needed to defeat Mercurymon and also rescue Tina Starling’s friend, Jean Winters from the mirrored maniac’s captivity.

With her digimon partner perched on the foot of her bed, the girl then lowered her goggles over her eyes, and nodded, signaling she was ready to go. Sheena and Vukumon then left the room, and headed towards the entrance of the Resistance Base, where Wisemon was waiting for her with the digimon that had volunteered to personally transport the girl to Mercurymon’s lair. All was silent as the girl walked, looking quite grim and determined until she saw the other kids that had been brought into the Digital World with her, waiting to say what they needed to before the girl left.

“Listen, Barnes,” said the black haired Tina Starling, the girl’s amber eyes looking straight into Sheena’s blue ones, “You better not die, alright? After all, I’d rather we just get back to earth and let things go back to normal than go home knowing that someone died.”

“I’ll try not to disappoint you.” Sheena said with a polite smile, before Scott spoke up next.

“Good luck Sheena.” he told her, “And, bring Jean back safely.”

“I’ll try my best!” Sheena then said, followed by the girl getting good luck messages from Bruce, Megan, and Tandy. In fact, Tandy had also given Sheena some sandwiches for her to put in her backpack, to share with Jean if the pink haired girl managed to win and get her out of there. Of course, when she got to Percy Black, the boy simply grabbed her hand, and kissed her on the lips for a few moments before he spoke up.

“That, was for good luck.” he said, “And if Mercurymon tries to pull his Hope Sucker on you, I’ve got a good feeling it’s not going to work.”

“Th-Thanks.” Sheena said, blushing as she kept walking, before seeing a very annoyed Esteban.

“Just come back, okay?” he said, “I still plan on out doing you in terms of technological skill, and it really won’t be the same if you let yourself get killed.”

Sheena however, remembered the boy admitting his crush on her back in the Tunnel of Regrets, and understood full well that he was only bringing up their rivalry to pretend his confession never happened. Kissing Esteban on the cheek however, she then silently nodded as she walked on. Of course, while Esteban was stunned by the act, Percy glared daggers at the Spanish boy, and decided to get a bit of payback after the big battle the rest of the Resistance will be fighting on their way up the mountain.

~~000~~

Later on in her walk, Sheena encountered Captain Steve Rogers, the super soldier and legend himself. The girl soon noticed that the hero looked rather worried, and just as she was about to ask what was wrong, he spoke up.

“I really think you should wait a little longer.” he then said while also doing his best to keep calm, “You’re only thirteen, and this battle you’re going into? It’s not going to be easy. Not to mention, there’s a good chance Mercurymon could kill you.”

“Cap, this is my choice.” Sheena then said as she gave him a sad smile, “Besides, Jean’s partner is at stake here too. We wait any longer, and he might not even get a chance to see Jean again if we don’t fight now. I’ve also got Vukumon with me, so I’m sure we can win by working together, and I don’t plan on going easy on Mercurymon, either!”

Cap was silent, letting Sheena’s words sink in as he also thought of his old friend, and his final moments before the young man, who was only a few years older than Sheena at the time, went off to sacrifice himself as Cap fell into the cold waters of the Artic and ended up frozen alive. It had been his choice as well back then, and the super soldier could only nod as he accepted that Sheena had made her choice in the present.

“Good luck then, Soldier.” was all Cap could say, despite feeling like he was about to lose it completely, and followed it up with a salute. Sheena smiled again and saluted back, before walking down the hall once again with a look of determination on the young teen’s face.

Captain America felt both proud of the kid, and also fearful of what might happen as he watched her go.

~~000~~

After what seemed like hours of walking and hearing good luck wishes from everyone as Sheena prepared to go into battle with just her partner as backup, the Knight of Hope finally made it to Wisemon, who was standing next to a large, robotic, bird like digimon. The grey and gold metals covering the digimon gleamed in the morning sunlight as Wisemon then began to speak.

“Sheena, this is our fastest flier, RaptorSparrowmon.” he said, “She will be taking you to Infinity Mountain, and then come straight back here to signal the start of our siege. While we hid a bout a mile from the base of the mountain, under Mercurymon’s very nose as the jungle hid the ruins quite well we couldn’t get past the barrier until now. As for the battle ahead, we will be sure to catch up with you as soon as possible. Hopefully, Mercurymon will be defeated before we arrive to assist you, if needed.”

“Understood.” Sheena said, before climbing onto RaptorSparrowmon’s back with Vukumon clinging to the larger digimon’s helm with her armored claws. “See you guys soon!”

As the girl grinned at the robed and hooded digimon, Wisemon watched as RaptorSparrowmon then took off, flying straight towards the summit where Mercurymon waited in his palace.

~~000~~

Meanwhile, Mercurymon was in his throne room, alone with Jean Winters. The red headed girl silently glaring at the mirrored maniac from within the sphere she had been thrown in upon their arrival.

“So, you have the crest of Friendship.” Mercurymon then said in his deep and slimy sounding voice, “Funny, you don’t really seem like the kind of person to know what a friend even is.”

“I know more than you.” Jean then said flatly, causing her captor to flinch and frown.

“Oh yes, because your ‘Friends’ are going to come rescue you.” he then said sarcastically, before making a wide gesture with his shielded arms as he continued to ham it up a bit, “No one’s coming to rescue you, human. You seem too cold, too heartless for them to even care about you, in fact, I assume they may just be happier with you gone.”

“You don’t know me. You don’t know my friends and classmates.” Jean said, apparently not affected by Mercurymon’s words.

“Oh?” Mercurymon then said, smiling a bit, “Well we’ll see about that. However, if the Knight of Hope does arrive to save you, it will be all for nothing. I will drain the hope out of them, making your foolish wannabe hero into just another servant of mine, before I do the same to you. Believe me, once those three days are up, I will enjoy hearing you scream out of fear for what I’ll do to you, and I will make quite sure that it’s… satisfying for me.”

“You don’t scare me.” Jean then said calmly, “In fact, you don’t even register on what can.”

“Oh?” Mercurymon said, kneeling down to reflect her face on the mirror set into his head, his red lips smiling with intrigue, “And what, might I ask, have you possibly seen that could be more frightening than me?”

Jean didn’t answer right away, instead looking around the sphere she was trapped in, seeing through it to see the shadows of the main room of the castle actually getting darker, and begin to writhe as if something was lurking within them. She then looked back at Mercurymon, and smiled when she finally answered.

“You don’t want to know.” she then said in her usual, near emotionless voice which sounded a bit chilling when combined with the girl’s smile. Confused more than afraid of the human, Mercurymon then stood up and looked around the room when he heard what sounded like claws clicking against the floor. He then noticed that something seemed quite wrong now, as he remembered that ever since the girl had been imprisoned his servants had all disappeared, forcing him to put the defense systems for his base on autopilot as well as leaving the maniac all alone. He soon felt something brush against his leg, causing him to jump, and look around more frantically as he only saw nothing there.

At first.

As he then faced his prisoner again, he then heard breathing behind him followed by a noise that sounded like a growl combined with a hiss and a few clicks. He then felt something drip onto his shoulder and turned, the monstrosity in the darkness reflecting quite clearly as its horrible yellow eyes shone brightly to reveal to Mercurymon it’s true face.

Mercurymon could only scream in horror at what he saw, while his so far emotionless prisoner simply giggled and watched what happened next.

Outside of Mercurymon’s palace however, Sheena and RaptorSparrowmon had landed, the girl having discovered a “Store” function on the Digi-watch when she tried to keep both Vukumon and herself from falling off their ride along the way. As the girl finally stepped onto solid ground at the end of her ten minute flight, she tapped the screen of her D-watch, and released her partner.

“I thought I’d have to tire myself out trying to catch up!” the lavender falcon said, “Wouldn’t want to be worn out before the big fight!”

“Yeah.” Sheena said, before turning towards the digimon that brought them there and thanked it. Of course, the trio immediately heard a scream, and feared the worst as Sheena and Vukumon headed inside, while RaptorSparrowmon soon took off again and returned to base.

It was time for the Resistance to take back Infinity Mountain.

~~000~~

Within the halls of the castle, Sheena ran ahead and made her way to the throne room where she suspected Mercurymon to be, before attempting to find his lab. However, despite the darkness everywhere, Sheena couldn’t help but notice that there was practically no one there to keep her out of the castle, or well fight her off.

Not to mention the silence was pretty eerie. However, Sheena said nothing, nor did her partner as both were intent on finding Mercurymon and defeating him for good. Soon, the two made it to a pair of wide double doors, and Sheena immediately digivolved her partner into champion level, before both of them worked together to punch their way in.

What they saw however, was Jean sleeping inside an orb, while her captor was breathing heavily and looking a little beat up as he typed away at a nearby computer. As their entrance was on the loud side, he then turned to face them, revealing his mirrored shields to be cracked and missing fragments, the mirror that acted as his face to have a very noticeable crack right down the middle, and finally the mirror that was normally in the abdomen to be completely missing.

“Who’s there!?” he said frantically, apparently having trouble making out his guests, “If it’s another beast from some extreme form of the Dark Ocean, I’ll let you know, I won’t go down easy!”

Sheena and Kukumon then exchanged looks for a moment as they silently wondered if Mercurymon could even see them clearly, before Sheena prepared to fight as she spoke up.

“I’m Sheena Barnes the Knight of Hope, Mercurymon.” she said, “And I’m here to rescue Jean Winters.”

The words seemed to cause the maniac to flinch for a bit, before he began to laugh like mad.

“Well, well, I must say that you are quite early, dear Knight of Hope. I am so sorry I couldn’t prepare my throne room for a more… proper welcome.” he said, trying to recompose himself as he also seemed to have failed to recognize Sheena from the last time they met at Whamon Cove, “And I have just managed to put the Knight of Friendship into stasis, she was… quite troublesome and refused to go to sleep like a good little girl.”

As Mercurymon began to laugh again, Kukumon charged in to attack. However, despite the enemy’s apparent loss of sanity, he still managed to deflect it by blocking it with one of his shields, and sending it right back at her. However, Sheena noticed that Kukumon was only winded, and not knocked unconscious, making her realize that while cracked, the counters weren’t as strong. As she quickly pushed a button on her left gauntlet, and brought forth a hard light copy of Cap’s shield, she then aimed it at Mercurymon while using her other hand to grab a crystal, and fired both at once.

“Offset Reflector!” Mercurymon invoked, causing the shield to go in to the cracked mirrior, and a distorted, glitched version coming out the other mirror, which failed to hit Kukumon as it vanished before impact. As for the crystal, it hit the mirror and shattered, the acid causing the glass to melt and tarnish the mirror shield. However, Mercurymon didn’t seem to notice, as he was more than a little angry that his attack seemed to have failed.

“Why won’t you just give up!” He then taunted, “Anything you do to me, will only be sent back at your partner or you! Can’t you see this battle is hopeless little girl?”

“Fraid not!” Sheena said with a smile, grabbing another crystal and reactivating the shield again, just as Kukumon attacked Mercurymon again with a blast of needles from its spiked helmet. However, the mirrored digimon only sent a reflected version of the needles towards Sheena, which only bounced harmlessly off her shield as she lobbed another Acid Diamond at the evil digimon. Like before, it hit and ruined Mercurymon’s defenses even more as the girl decided to distract him a bit.

“As long as there’s hope,” Sheena said, brandishing the hard light Shield, “I’ll never give up on defeating you, and rescuing Jean! Even if she bullied me a bit back home.”

“She’s not even your friend!?” Mercurymon then said, shocked and confused as he barely blocked Kukumon’s next attack, and swung her away. Sheena however only grinned as she took a moment to put her hands behind her back. “Then why try and save an enemy!?”

“Because,” the girl then said, putting her defenses back up, “people can change over time. That, and I’d rather just beat the crap out of a monster like you.”

“We’ll see about that!” Mercurymon said, pulling out a device and attaching it to the frame of his left mirror shield before directing it at Sheena. “Dark Reflection!”

When nothing happened, Mercurymon looked pretty confused, while Sheena simply grinned wider at the mirrored fiend.

“Guess I’m too much for you little toy Mercurymon!” she said with a laugh, before giving him a thumbs up. “Hey, look at my thumb!”

“What!?” the evil digimon then said, staring at the potentially insane and dangerous human as he tried to figure out why his amplifier wasn’t working. However, he was then met with a sudden kick to the face, which knocked him to the ground. As he looked up, he was quite surprised to see what looked like a humanoid female warrior wearing a cloak and cowl made of Vukumon’s skin. There was a red bandanna on her right arm, a spear in her hands, metal armor on her legs that ended in clawed feet, and finally a fringed leather dress going down to the knee that was decorated with Digi-code that to Mercurymon, spelled out “Falcon,” while more digicode on the spear’s shaft spelled out “The wind still rises.”

“Wh-Who are you?!” Mercurymon then said, while Sheena simply gave an exaggerated shrug while pretending to be disappointed with her opponent.

“Gee, you’re dumb,” she then said as she shook her head, “Didn’t you notice my partner seemed to be missing after the last time you attacked her? Well, let me re-introduce her to you.”

“You little brat!” Mercurymon cried, the insult to his intelligence putting him into a rage as he charged at the girl and attempted to grab her. However, the warrior woman managed to fly down from where she had been hovering in mid-air, and blocked his hands with her spear.

“The name’s Monokemon, you mirrored moron!” she said, before ducking as her partner jumped up and punched Mercurymon in the face with her right gauntlet, the power boost they gave her actually pushing the evil warrior back as his face shattered to the point where even his mouth had flown off and shattered to pieces. Mercurymon then struggled to get up, his body starting to deteriorate from all the damage he had recieved and tried to say something, only for it to come out severely muffled and unable to be understood by anyone. His final words forever unknown, he let out one final muffled scream as he exploded into data and the villain was no more.

It was at that moment though, that the doors were opened again, letting not just some light into the surprisingly dark throne room, but also revealing to Sheena that her back up had arrived a bit late, and saw that it consisted of Scott, Captain America, and Tony Stark, who had made himself not only a pair of repulsor blaster gloves, but also a pair of jet boots to allow him to fly. As he didn’t get a chance to make any other armor however, Tony had to stay and blast things from afar while he made his way up the mountain with Scott and Cap.

“Hi guys!” Sheena then said with a smile, while Monokemon had unfortunately earned Tony’s attention.

“Well, where did you come from angel?” he said, “Also, what do you look like without the hood?”

“You…. do realize I’m normally a literal bird, right?” Monokemon then said in annoyance, “You know, Sheena’s partner, Vukumon?”

Realizing the implications of what he was flirting with now, Tony simply fell quiet while Cap tried hard not to laugh too much. Scott however, saw his sister still in stasis, and had run over during the exchange, before banging on it with all his might. Realizing the job wasn’t done yet, the rest of the group ran over, and with the combined powered up punches of Sheena and Tony, Cap’s shield, and Monokemon, they struck together.

“V-Spear!” Monokemon said, just as the others struck the stasis pod and broke it open, letting Jean tumble out from above. Scott then caught her as she woke up, causing the room they were in to suddenly get a lot brighter than before.

“Scott!” Jean then said as she quickly adjusted her hair back over her right eye before hugging her brother tightly. “Mercurymon he-”

“He’s dead now.” Scott said, hugging his sister back. “Sheena took care of him while you were out. Now your partner needs you ASAP, so you take this Gate Disk and go back to the base, understand?”

“Got it.” Jean then said, taking the device her brother pulled out and activated it, managing to leave the room with her brother. As the twins left before Sheena could hand over the sandwiches Tandy made to the girl, Cap decided to ask the question that was on both his, and Tony’s mind.

“How was the fight?” he said before adding, “Are you okay?”

“Mercurymon… was actually pretty easy.” Sheena then said as she sounded pretty disappointed, “In fact, when we got here, he looked like he’d been through a blender already. No idea how that happened though. Anyway, I’m fine Cap, didn’t I tell you I wasn’t going to go easy on him?”

“Yeah, but you did say he was already damaged. When we fought him at Whamon Cove… we couldn’t get a scratch on him. So, what did?” Cap asked, looking quite concerned.

“Steve,” Tony said, “We won. It’s probably best we don’t know what happened before Sheena got here.”

“But…” Steve then began to say, just as Monokemon started glowing, and then shrinking back into the indigo feathered bird-like digimon, Tylamon.

“I’m sleepy…” the little dark blue bird said as she yawned. Sheena then smiled as she picked her partner up, just as Seraphimon entered the throne room and looking like he had completely recovered from Mercurymon’s treachery. As the castle’s true lord walked towards them, the palace seemed to brighten up even further and look much more cheerful in design, in fact, some parts actually morphed from frightening gargoyles to cheerful and cute little sculptures of Patamon.

“Well done,” Seraphimon said, patting Sheena on the head, “With Mercurymon destroyed, I believe that I can now fully restore the Ring of Hope to its former glory, and also, one last thing.”

“What’s that?” Sheena, Cap, and Tony all asked, but Seraphimon said nothing as his body glowed, power surging through his arm and into Sheena’s body, causing it to glow with a yellow light. Once it faded however, the girl looked very much the same, save for her guantlets and also holo-shield depicting the golden Crest of Hope.

“Allow you to gain part of your power as the Knight of Hope.” Seraphimon then said, “The rest of it is currently elsewhere in the digital world- I know not where, but I have faith you will be able to find the weapons of Hope, Sheena.”

“Looking forward to the treasure hunt, Seraphimon! I’ll be sure to find them too!” the girl then said before grinning and giving the armored angel a hug with one arm, while holding Tylamon with the other.

~~000~~

Later on, The four heroes returned to Base, to inform Beezlemon of the good news. Of course, while Sheena learned the details of the battle from Cap and Tony, it was seeing Valkyrimon, the three Cutemon, and Bruce working to tend to the injured that showed the girl that the battle they had fought wasn’t without any difficulty. In fact, when they found Beezlemon, the resistance leader was busy getting his wing put into a splint by Bruce and FanBeemon, the ex-demon lord himself bracing himself as he felt a little pain.

“Oh good, you’re back.” Beezlemon then said, before grunting a bit, “Seraphimon went after you two when he sensed Mercurymon’s defeat, but I also see Sheena’s been knighted. However… I ended up getting hit in the wing by one of those cannons we faced on the mountain side when I moved to keep Mervamon from getting hit.”

“But, it was worth it though, right?” Sheena then said, “The Ring of Hope’s been liberated, so the Resistance can start helping Digimon and save the rest of the Digital World!”

“Yeah.” Beezlemon then said, before Cap spoke up.

“Seraphimon also mentioned Sheena needing to find “Weapons of Hope.” the star spangled man said, causing Beezlemon to sigh.

“I don’t know all the details, but according to one of Baromon’s prophecies, the Digital Knights will not just earn their crests, but also gain weapons and power representing them from nine digimon chosen to represent those nine crests: Hope, Love, Couage, Friendship, Purity, Sincerity, Knowledge, Kindness and Light.” he then began, “Unfortunately, since those nine digimon are the original masters of the Rings, and as far as I know, Seraphimon is the only one of those original nine still active I don’t know much else about the others, except that they’re probably still guarding the weapons until the kids claim them.”

“So, why did Seraphimon tell Sheena her weapons were elsewhere in the digital world?” Cap then asked as Tony had gone off to the lab as he wasn’t really that interested in Digital Lore and prophecies.

“Because while I was still a demon lord, the weapons were placed in the care of Regulumon- Seraphimon’s former captain of the guard.” Beezlemon said sadly, “That is, until he and both the Pegasus Gauntlets and the Leo Shield said to be used by the Knight of Hope disappeared while he was traveling back to the ring after a meeting in the Center of Light.”

“So, the kids are getting some weapons to defend themselves alongside their digimon in the future. ” Cap said, “Can you tell me anything else about them, that way once the kids are training again, I can make sure they won’t hurt themselves while using them.”

“I’m sorry, I don’t.” Beezlemon said, “In fact, only Mastemon really knew about all nine weapons, and that only a handful of digimon in each ring know what their respective Knight’s weapon is at all, and unfortunately we were so busy trying to flee to safety when the Coup started, that we didn’t think to ask around.”

“Great… looks like we’ll have to make things up as we find them.” Cap sighed just as Diamondback had arrived and saw her little girl was alive and well. Running over to hug the young hero, Tylamon then woke up and shrieked, claiming that she was being squished as for the moment all seemed well for not only the Heroes, but the Resistance as a whole.

~~000~~

In the Ring of Love, however, there was certainly trouble still brewing.

Lillithmon and her butler, the magical clown Piedmon had just finished examining another digimon brought before the wicked ruler, who then deemed them to be better looking than her, and placed them in a deep sleep. After she ordered her Vilemon servants to take them away and send them to where the others were located the clown seemed quite sorrowful, as he was unable to fight against the current ruler of the Ring and placed a hand over the black ring clasped around his upper arm.

“Piedmon, am I in fact the best looking digimon in the Ring of Love?” Lillithmon then asked once the ugly, evil looking Vilemon had left the room, as she herself turned to look in a mirror.

“Yes, my lady.” Piedmon then said, doing his best to hide the venom in his tone like a cobra not yet ready to bite. 

Lillithmon then looked at her reflection for a moment, adjusting her black hair and then smirking at Piedmon before she left the room, dismissing him for the evening. The miserable servant then groaned once he was sure she was out of hearing range.

“By the heart of Quartette, I thought she’d never leave!” he said, before turning a horrid little Vilemon that snuck into the room to watch him into a keychain with a wave of his hand. “Ever since she took over, the Ring of Love has become a wasteland! Especially after you arrived.”

He then looked at the demon lord’s favorite prize: a muscular human with long, ash blond hair, armor, a winged helmet, and a red cape. This stranger had been brought to the palace by Lillithmon’s strongest servants and tried to fight for his freedom. In fact the weapon he used was currently stuck in the floor of the very room they were in, and so far had been unable to be even moved by even strongest of palace guards, which was impressive for such a small hammer and Piedmon himself had detected some rather unknown magic upon it as well when he had some privacy.

In the end though, Lillithmon had managed to place the stranger under a sleeping spell, and proceeded to entrap the sleeping warrior in a layer of crystal as he laid on Piedmon’s bed, locked in a dreamless sleep and yet unaware of the world around him until he occasionally awoke and struggled before falling asleep again. The prison itself not even weakening no matter how much the man had struggled. Of course, though Piedmon felt he could have easily undo the spell with his own power, the damned ring on his arm kept him from disobeying any order given to him by Lillithmon, and unfortunately, she had been smart enough to tell him not to release the human.

And so, Piedmon was also given the duty of watching the captive man, since he was in the clown’s chambers anyway and a cot had to be set up for the wicked queen’s butler himself to sleep on.

Piedmon then sighed as he went over to the window and looked out at the garden below. It was still beautiful- for now at least, but despite that, the one statue he saw from his window: That of a woman holding a dove and a clam, caused his heart to break every time he saw it and remembered what he had failed to do when Lillithmon arrived.

So, in silence the poor butler wept, hoping for the day that some digimon or even the Digital Knights would come and liberate the Ring and give it back to its true ruler. But, all he could do now, was look up at the full moon overhead, and whisper to himself.

“Please forgive me, my Princess…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, originally over on Tumblr, this would have been where Arc one ended. However, looking back at the chapter after this one, I realized that Chapter 20 was more of an epilogue than the start of another Arc, and decided to make Chapter 20 the last one of the first arc here on AO3.
> 
> So, let's talk stuff. 
> 
> Now, this chapter is the first one where we see one of the kids get an Ultimate Level digimon. However, Monokemon's actual digivolution won't be seen until the final battle of the next arc. Mainly because I wanted to have a bit of fun with this and not make a show of Kukumon becoming Monokemon as in terms of plot... that'd ruin the surprise attack. Also, the "Look at my thumb" thing from chapter one becomes a brick joke for this arc. 
> 
> As for Monokemon herself? Originally she was called Mononokemon and was well, wolf themed before I started writing the fic. In the end I decided to shorten the name so it'd be less tongue-twistery, and go with a bird motif since well, I felt it fit better for Sheena's partner here. 
> 
> Now, as for that scene with Jean and Mercurymon? Well, I just felt like doing a bit of creepy stuff for Jean after having Scott mention she had access to... something... last chapter. If you're keeping up with the journals, then you'll know what Mercurymon is doing when Sheena arrives is finishing up his report. We'll get a bit of an explanation from Jean next chapter about what attacked Mercurymon to soften him up before Sheena arrived, and once I get to Arc three on this site, that same creature will get a bit more action.
> 
> In the Dark Ocean. Doctor Strange is going to be there too, and will be changed by the experience as well.
> 
> Now then, in the original version of the chapter, Seraphimon didn't mention any weapons and there was no discussing them between Cap and Beezlemon. Mainly because I didn't think them up until I was working on Arc two. I personally feel like this was a good move by adding it, since well, it makes the weapons feel less like a Deus Ex Machina. Also, when each kid finds their weapon, they're going to have a meeting with someone tied to their crest. You'll see what I mean during Arc 2.
> 
> Finally, the part at the end that takes place in the Ring of Love. Quartette, the being Piedmon invoked isn't part of Digimon lore, so that should be a sign that he's not exactly from the digital world, as well as the mention of magic in the Digital World. The magic is referring to the one time released Magical Witches V-pet, which got tied into Digimon lore through Wizardmon and other magic based digimon, and by extension, made Witchelny a thing. Since there's not much info about Witchelny in terms of lore, I had to make stuff up and so Quartette is basically an OC of sorts that does for Witchelny what Yggdrasil does for the Digital World. 
> 
> And yes, Thor is just snoozing on Piedmon's bed under a layer of crystal. While Lillithmon can't really make crystal prisons, this version of her may have stolen some magic from Witchelny by absorbing a core from a digimon that knew how to use it, and combining it with her own. Also, the keychain thing is a reference to the Piedmon from the very first season of the show. Unlike that Piedmon however, this one will not be a villain serving Apocalymon.
> 
> Nor will there be any shipping between Piedmon and Myotismon in this fic. Sorry yaoi fangirls.
> 
> As for the Black Ring on Piedmon? Yes, it's a reference to 02. No, the Digimon Emperor isn't going to show up and prove he's working with Lillithmon in Arc 2. 
> 
> As for why Piedmon still has free will (mostly) instead of being a mindless minion to Lillithmon? Because his black ring can only force him to follow orders since he's a Mega Level digimon and well, it wouldn't have been fun to have the guy be a mindless and glowy-eyed monster, now would it?
> 
> Next time? We wrap this arc up!


	20. After the Battle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An Epilogue to the first arc of Digivengers.

Beezlemon sat in bed, his injured wing stretched out and splinted still. While the medical team had ran themselves ragged with the wounded, Valkyrimon insisted that they wait until the exhausted Cutemon recovered their own energy before his wing could be fully healed. So, the Resistance Leader decided to kill time and write in his journal about their victory.

Of course, his day became a lot better when Mervamon entered his chambers, carrying a tray of food in her hands and having a soft smile on her face.

“So,” she said as she walked towards him, “can you believe what all has happened after our victory yesterday? So many new recruits managed to join the Resistance, and all because they were inspired by Mercurymon’s defeat.”

“Yeah…” Beezlemon said, setting his journal aside and giving Mervamon a chance to set his meal down. Seeing that it consisted of a bowl of beef stew, some fresh bread and side of rice, the former demon lord smiled as dug in. “I guess Hope is pretty effective when you got it.”

“Yeah,” Mervamon said, “and we have the Ring of Love next.”

Beezlemon choked a bit, before forcing himself to swallow and then let out a groan. “I am not looking forward to facing Lillithmon.”

“Because she’s your sister?” Mervamon then asked.

“No, because my sister is insane and there’s no telling what crazy stunt she’ll try to pull just to try and force me to join her as a bad guy again!” Beezlemon then said, “While we are family… I have to admit that I am ashamed at how she’s ended up.”

“So, unstable, a tyrant, and an attention whore?” Mervamon said, causing Beezlemon to sigh and hang his head.

“Yes, and you also forgot obsessed with me.”

“Well, you might not like it, but I am looking forward to getting some payback for our last encounter.” Mervamon said, before giving a grin as her snake arm, Medullia hissed in excitement.

“Why do I get the feeling that this won’t end well?” Beezlemon then groaned, and went back to his meal. “Not to mention, I have no idea how to even move the whole resistance to the next ring yet. Oh, and Behemoth was damaged, so I have to wait for her to recover too.”

Mervamon, seeing that her friend was in a bad mood, simply pecked him on the cheek and smiled as he froze and started stammering.

“At least we have time to figure things out.” she said, before checking to see how his injured wing was doing.

~~000~~

“Can you believe it!” Dorumon roared as he crossed his arms and pouted while laying in bed. “Everyone else gets to go fight, and I have to stay here and rest. Just because I nearly die one time, they don’t think I’m fit enough to be in the big battle!”

“Dorumon!” Megan said, while the Tokomon X in her lap jumped onto the bed to cuddle with the furry dino fox, “You know that Valkyrimon wanted you to get better all the way before getting into another fight! Not to mention I’m worried you might have gotten all scary again!”

Dorumon flinched and whined as he looked at his parnter, before sighing.

“Megan, you know I promised to never scare you again…” he said, which got himself a hug to the neck from his young partner. Of course, it was at that moment the door to their room opened, and the blond haired and bow tie-wearing Bruce Davidson walked in with his partner, FanBeemon.

“Hi Megan!” Bruce said, holding the medical bag he got from Valkyrimon in front of him, “How’s Dorumon doing?”

Dorumon however, simply smiled nervously and spoke up. “I’m fine! Really! I feel like I can take down a Greymon!”

FanBeemon however, simply flew up and looked Dorumon straight in the eye as he noted the digimon’s hesitance. “Liar, you just don’t want to get a check up because you don’t like doctors. And you shouldn’t strain yourself after you almost reverted to a Digi Egg.”

“Oh come on!” Dorumon said, while Bruce sighed and pulled out a stethoscope to begin his examination, “I used to be the head of the Royal Knights, and I’m still able to fight!”

“And yet you nearly let yourself die. Again.” FanBeemon said as he gave a sly look, while Bruce and Megan decided to have a chat of their own while the boy gave the girl’s partner a check up.

“So Megan, did you hear that Sheena managed to activate her crest?” Bruce asked as he checked Dorumon’s temperature.

“Yeah!” said Megan, “I wonder what will happen when we activate ours, but I’m kinda scared Dorumon might go crazy again if I do.”

“I’m actually looking forward to seeing FanBeemon’s next stage!” Bruce said with a smile, “Waspmon was pretty tough, so I think the next stage could be even tougher hurt, right?”

“I guess…” Megan said. However, the girl was still afraid of what her partner could become when it got too extreme in battle, and in all truth, she still had nightmares about Reptiledramon and its fight against the Ogremon.

She was after all, only a nine year old girl.

~~000~~

Jean Winters however, was simply sitting beside her bed, sketching in a notebook while her partner Kapurimon slept and recovered. She hadn’t really expected to learn that her partner would grow weaker when they were separated like they were, but when she did, she did her best to rush to her partner’s side when she and Scott got back to the base. It had been in the nick of time too, as Kapurimon had almost turned into a baby digimon. Patting the metal masked digimon’s head as it slept, Jean felt happy that she was able to be rescued when she was.

Not to mention the sandwiches Sheena delivered to her an hour later were delicious as well.

However, her happiness faded as she remembered what had happened while she was Mercurymon’s prisoner. Just like when she was eight years old in Utah, “Fluffy,” as she called the beast had arrived to try and help her. While last time her brother Scott managed to spook Fluffy back then, this time however she was alone and Mercurymon had looked into the face of her only remaining friend from that horrible time she and Scott had went through years before. She remembered how all the friends she made back in Utah had left her alone when that monster, Nero started stalking her, whether it was because they were ordered by overprotective parents, or out of fear they’d be next, Jean never knew. But Fluffy had shown up during that time, trying to comfort her before Scott scared it away, her brother more afraid for his sister than himself. While she remembered seeing Fluffy fight against Mercurymon, in an attempt to save her from him, she also knew full well that he realized their connection, and put her in stasis to banish the beast. Jean knew full well that the creature could be summoned when she needed her, but she also wondered just what her other friends or everyone on Earth besides her family would think if they knew of her pet.

And then, Scott entered the room.

“Hey sis,” he said, drawing her out of her thoughts, while the boy’s partner moved to the other side of the bed, obviously worried for Kapurimon. “there’s something I’ve been wondering… did you bring ‘It’ out while Mercurymon held you captive?”

“Yes.” Jean said bluntly, “Also, her name is Fluffy. She only tried to help me and just focused on Mercurymon.”

“Alright.” Scott said before giving a shrug as if this was in fact a normal thing they talked about, before he became concerned as he realized not everyone else might feel the same as they did about Jean’s “pet,” and what she could do. “Listen, I know I can nullify Fluffy’s presence by being around you, so… I promise to never, ever let you get kidnapped like that again, ok Jean?”

“Thanks.” Jean said, smiling before she hugged her brother. After pulling back, she then laughed, “You realize that you and I are probably weirdness magnets, don’t you?”

“Jean, you have a pet Eldritch Horror, I can literally glow with Courage, and that’s not even getting into the stuff you, me, and Dad inherited from our Great Grandpa.” Scott said, while his partner, White PawnChessmon looked rather creeped out that the boy’s normally emotionless sister actually could laugh, “I kind of figured that out when we were eight. Besides, we are in another world and partnered with well, digital monsters. So, I think being a magnet for weird stuff is an understatement. We might as well be a black hole!”

Jean then laughed again, causing White PawnChessmon to shudder as he found the whole situation freaky, while the twins just enjoyed the fact they could act normal, even if they were alone with their digimon.

~~000~~

“You did well in yesterday’s siege, Phascomon.” Tina Starling said to her partner as they shared some cake Tandy had made. As the girl patted her partner’s head, the demonic and sleepy looking koala softly growled. “I’m proud of your work in taking out Mercurymon’s toys.”

Phascomon then looked up and smiled as he spoke then.

“Ah, tanks, Sweetheart.” he said, “I really adore ya Sincerity.”

Tina then wiped her digimon’s face, followed by Phascomon giving her a hug. Nuzzling the little monster’s head though, the black haired girl then felt her watch vibrate. As she looked at it however, she looked rather surprised to see the cross that acted as her crest glow white on the screen, along with the message “Ultimate level, Unlocked.”

“It seems my dear Phascomon, that we’ve just unlocked your Ultimate form.” Tina then said with a smile, “But, let’s save it for the next time we’re in trouble. I’m sure Sheena will be surprised to see that she’s no longer the only one to have a digimon that can go Ultimate.”

Her partner of course, and fallen asleep, and simply nuzzled the girl. Tina however, just gently smiled, picked him up and lay him down on the bed, before covering him up so he’d be nice and warm. She really did care about her digimon- despite her normal attitude, as she also cared about her friends Jean and Scott. Considering how hard they battled the day before though, Tina decided to let her partner rest as she took their plates and headed off to deliver them to the kitchen so they can be cleaned.

~~000~~

“Thanks Tina! Glad you and Phascomon enjoyed the cake!” Tandy Johnson said after getting the girl’s dirty dishes. Despite being part of the Digital Knights, ever since Tony Stark threw that party at the base, Tandy had developed a liking for cooking for an army. While she had only just started learning how to cook back home when ever her dad had to work late, she was surprised on how well she could pull it off with her partner’s assistance. Actually, the fact that Candlemon knew how to cook at all was a surprise to her, and the two of them had been working together to make sure Tandy became a better cook herself.

At the moment though, they were busy preparing a banquet for the new recruits that had joined, and while the kitchen was normally staffed by digimon called “Burgermon” who either resembled little creatures with sesame-seed bun hats, or ones with onion hats on their heads for the more humanoid older looking ones. There were even a pink variant called “EbiBurgamon,” which was also shrimp based.

Despite the digimon busy cooking however, Tandy and Candlmon had one other digimon helping them: the Royal Knight Crusadermon.

“I am really not fond of cooking…” the pink armored warrior then said as she chopped some vegetables.

“Why not?” Tandy asked as she stirred some soup stock for the big meal.

“Because I had to cook all our meals in the old days!” Candlemon then chimed in, before using his flame to cook a frying pan full of scrambled eggs that had been placed over his head. Crusadermon however, grumbled and blushed a bit as she kept chopping vegetables while also wearing a frilly plaid apron.

“Well, I was a terrible cook without you, old friend.” Crusadermon soon said, “And I still am.”

“Wow Crusadermon, how did you survive your own cooking?” Candlemon then said dryly as he finished the eggs and placed them into a bowl before getting to work sauteing the vegetables Crusadermon chopped along with some beef.

“I developed an iron stomach.” Crusadermon then said, while Tandy chuckled. Of course, the girl then sighed as she brought up another subject.

“We still have eight other rings to liberate.” she said, “So that means a lot more battles, as well as some possible deaths as well.”

The trio were silent for a moment, before Candlemon realized he was starting to burn what was in the pan and quickly removed it from over his head and placed it to the side. Crusadermon ended up giggling herself, before speaking as well.

“I’m sure we will overcome the challenges ahead, whatever they may be.” she said, with Tandy thanking her and agreeing. As for Candlemon however, seeing his both old and current partners together was something that made him uncomfortable still, and was not really sure how to even describe what he was feeling right now.

~~000~~

Meanwhile, Esteban was in his room, Ryudamon having gone to the library to get more books about Digi-Code for the boy’s translator project. As he wrote down translations into English and Spanish and scanned them in with his D-Watch, he also tried to find a way to make this go faster with his powers. As none of the books however, had any exposed data, there was nothing he could do or manipulate. He had considered doing something similar to Wisemon’s book, but as the digimon made it very well known- if he touched it, Wisemon threatened to seal the boy away in his time and space balls.

As Esteban kept on working however, Percy had crept into his room to prepare a prank on him. Of course, as he couldn’t seem to get his attention, the British punk then conjured up an ice cube with his own powers and pressed it to Esteban’s neck, before dropping it down his shirt. Esteban then jumped and turned, only to frown and spark with electricity as he saw Percy grin at him.

“What do you want?” Esteban then said, while Percy nonchalantly scratched under Kudamon’s chin.

“Just wondering what you were working on, that’s all.” Percy then said, “Kudamon and I both tried to get your attention, but you didn’t seem to be listening.”

“And where did you get the ice?” Esteban then asked, not buying it.

“I keep a small cooler in my room. It’s just down the hall from yours, so I went back, grabbed a nice big chunk of ice from it, and came back when my third attempted failed.” Percy said with a shrug and a smirk. Esteban however, didn’t seem to buy this either as he moved closer, still sparking with electricity as he readied to give Percy a jolt. Kudamon, sensing danger, then jumped away and landed on Esteban’s bed just before the Spanish boy tapped Percy on the chest. While he saw the punk barely cringe from the jolt, Percy was otherwise unaffected.

“What in the bloody hell was that for!?” Percy said, while Esteban simply adjusted his glasses and smirked.

“Let’s just say that I had a hunch about you, and decided to test something.” Esteban said, “You seem a bit more resilient than most people.”

“So?” Percy said, “Maybe I’m a mutant like you.”

Esteban however, held up a hand and wagged a finger in Percy’s face as he clicked his tongue, “No you’re not. I was walking by your door when you and Cap talked in there the other day, so I know you can use magic, and that you’re not even human at all.”

Percy glared, “You best leave the subject alone mate, you might say something you’ll regret.”

“Ah, but I also heard about your relation to Loki.” Esteban then said with a smirk, causing Percy to flinch, “While I did move on after hearing that you’re the grandson of Thor’s main enemy, I am willing to keep your secret. However, I will tell everyone about the conversation you and Cap had, unless… you play nice with me and also leave Sheena alone.”

Percy frowned, not really liking the idea of what Esteban was doing. So, he punched the electrical mutant in the face, knocking his glasses off, before picking him up by the shoulder and turning blue as his frost giant abilities kicked in and started to slowly freeze Esteban’s shoulder.

“You crossed a line Esteban.” Percy said, as he held the Spaniard off the ground, “I will not tolerate being blackmailed, and if you even think about telling everyone my secret before I’m ready? I will bloody show you what sort of tricks my gramps taught me.”

Esteban, realizing his mistake simply gulped and nodded in understanding, too scared to speak. Percy then gave a smile and returned to normal, placing Esteban on the ground and patting where he had grabbed him. This was followed by the boy picking up Esteban’s glasses and handing them to the scared teen.

“Good luck on your project.” Percy then said, as if he had never turned into a monster in the first place, especially as Kudamon jumped off the bed and onto Percy’s shoulders. As the punk then left, Esteban rubbed his shoulder after putting his glasses back on, realizing that not only did he almost get killed by taunting a proverbial dragon, but that Sheena may be in trouble if his suspicions about Percy actually being a villain in training were correct.

The Knight of Knowledge could only go and get some hot water for his numb shoulder, unsure if Percy could even be trusted or not, and also scared of what would happen if he did tell everyone anyway.

~~000~~

Cap sat down in the Primary village, watching Tony spend time with the baby digimon while he was being watched by the caretakers, Yaksyamon and TobuCatmon. While the latter was a little annoyed Tony tried to take her apart and figure out how she worked (which led to Yaksyamon hitting Tony with a wooden sword), the two also noted that the little digimon seemed to like his company and decided to let him visit. Especially when it came to MetalKoromon. In fact, neither Tony nor Cap could understand why the little computer mouse like creature seemed to already know Tony’s name upon hatching, or how happy it was to see him after doing so, only that it simply did.

Of course, other things had entered Cap’s thoughts and the super soldier seemed lost in them, as Tony soon noticed as well. Walking over to him with MetalKoromon on his shoulder, he tried to get his friend’s attention, even waving his hand in front of Cap’s face. However, he didn’t seem to notice until MetalKoromon leapt off of Tony’s shoulder and landing on Cap’s head, and immediately poking its body down until it was in the super soldier’s line of vision.

“Huh?” Cap said, looking surprised as he picked up the small digimon and held it in his hand.

“Finally!” Tony said, throwing his hands up in exasperation, “Me and the little guy were wondering what’s on your mind.”

“Oh…” Cap said, trying his best to smile, “It’s nothing you should be worried about Tony, really.”

“Steve” Tony said, not buying it, “Something’s bothering you, and even I can see that. It’s about the other Avengers, isn’t it? I’ve told you already Sheena and I discovered that they’re in the Digital World, just scattered about, with one of them on the move. We’ll find them, and see which one’s coming.”

“I know,” Cap then said, “but that’s not what I’m thinking about. It’s… well, it happened before we arrived at the Factory. Me, Beezlemon, and the kids got side tracked in the tunnel, got sucked inside giant mirrors, and well… before I could get out of the one I got stuck in… I saw Bucky.”

“You mean the Winter Soldier.” Tony said, sitting down and looking up at the sky, and also noticing strange, iridescent butterflies overhead.

“No. I mean Bucky. Before he became… you know.” Cap explained, “I know how crazy it sounds, but its true. He talked to me, and somehow, it seemed like it was really him. Or well, his memories. What bothered me most however, is the fact he said I’d see him again.”

“Maybe it was just an illusion and all in your head?” Tony suggested, as Metal Koromon then leapt to curl up on the man’s stomach as Tony was now laying on his back.

“He also said I was supposed to face something else as a trial, but he apparently hi-jacked it.” Cap then said, “Before he started getting all… distorted and flickery before sending me out of there with a good bye.”

“So what, it was some sort of weird data ghost?” Tony said, rolling his eyes and letting out a laugh. “Just how is that even possible?”

“Tony, we’ve been in this place a few weeks, and there’s plenty of odd stuff that doesn’t make sense in our world.” Cap then pointed out, “So who knows what is or isn’t possible here.”

At that moment though, MetalKoromon seemed to get a bit panicky and started to tremble, both men looking at it in confusion before their expressions turned to horror and disgust.

See, it is a known fact that Koromon do not have the best bowel control, and sadly, that is very true for their metal counterparts. As Tony sat up and let Koromon jump off and land on the ground, the pink pile of digi-dung rolled off his shirt and landed with a plop on the ground as well. Tony then stuck his tongue out in digust as he stood up and went to find a place to clean up.

“I am starting to really dislike this place!” he said before walking off, while Cap found himself trying very hard not to laugh.

~~000~~

Elsewhere, Rachel Leighton-Barnes, aka, Diamondback was just relaxing with her closest friend in the Digital World, Renamon. The two were standing on a balcony and overseeing the base’s “city” below them, bustling with life.

“Do you really intend to help your daughter fight?” Renamon then asked, watching the digimon below going about their business.

“Yep.” said Rachel, before the pink haired superhero turned to face her partner. “You manage to get that little thing we worked on with Wisemon a few years back?”

“Of course.” Renamon then said, pulling out a slim box from her left sleeve, and holding it out to her friend. Diamondback then opened it up and pulled out a rounded, but thin triangular device that was black and pink, and had a square screen upon it as well, along with a few buttons on the edge. She then clipped it on her belt and turned it on, the device flashing before going into standby mode.

“You know, I’m looking forward to the next few rounds,” Rachel then said, “And hopefully, I’ll be able to go back to Earth with my little girl after this is over.”

“Well,” Renamon then said with a smile, “I’m certainly looking forward to fighting at full power again, partner. And if we meet Tactimon?”

“We’ve got some business to take care of when we get to him again.” Rachel then said, smiling as the two fist-bumped and went back to looking over the city below.

~~000~~

“Do you have to go, Seraphimon?” Sheena then asked while the girl, Vukumon, and the Lord of Hope were in the library for one final meeting.

“I am afraid so Sheena, As Lord of Hope, I cannot leave File Island without destroying the Ring in the process.” he said “However, my old friend Ophanimon will be able to help you, if you need advice.”

“We’ll miss you though!” Vukumon then said, causing the armored angel to flinch a bit.

“I’ll… miss both of you as well.” he said, before getting an idea, “However, I will say this: Sheena, if Vukumon’s Ultimate form ever gets into a fight, and that no matter what happens to try and help her, it will look like she might be deleted, I want you to just simply think of blue skies, and hum.”

“How is humming supposed to help?” Sheena asked, completely confused.

“Simple my dear,” Seraphimon then said, “sometimes, a song can be quite powerful.”

With that said, Seraphimon, the Lord of Hope, gave Sheena and Vukumon a hug, before bidding them both good bye. As much as all three of them wanted him to stay and help the Resistance, he had duties to get back to as the Lord of Hope, and as it was, he could not leave his domain behind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woohoo! Digivengers Arc 1: Hope, has now ended. As you can see, this chapter was really more "catching up" after the battle with the main cast at this point, than anything else. Unfortunately, Rachel and Renamon's segment will not get any more development until Arc 3. Sorry folks. Also, the device isn't a digivice from tamers, so I'll say that much at least.
> 
> And yes, Seraphimon not coming along with the Resistance is sad for those who liked him, but as he said, he leaves the Ring of Hope, then it goes bye-bye. Honestly, that'd be pretty counterproductive to what the kids are trying to do you know. What is this? The last act of Digimon Frontier?
> 
> Anywho... here's what's going down in Arc 2, done in the style of the ending of History of the World Part 1:
> 
> See! A pair of magical duels!  
> See! A king hiding out in his castle get some sense knocked into him!  
> See! Myotismon return!  
> See! THE AWESOME GANKOOMON!  
> See! A Character from the V-Tamer 01 manga!?  
> See! A Major Catfight!  
> See! Cameos from Digimon Adventure and Adventure 02!  
> See! A very confused digimon!  
> See! The Mighty Thor!
> 
> (Also, the butterflies mentioned in Cap and Tony's segment are important.)


End file.
